3 students join youth congress in Hawaii

Three high school students from the CNMI leave today for Honolulu, Hawaii to join 1,000 other young delegates from more than 100 countries for an international conference aimed at tackling pressing global issues from the views of the youth sector.

Ramona S. Concepcion from the Marianas Baptist Academy; Karl King Nabors, Tinian High School; and Franklin S. Palacios, Marianas High School, will represent the CNMI to the five-day conference held to assess Agenda 21 issues as well as set new priorities and targets for the new millennium.

The three were selected from a list of outstanding students from all schools on Saipan, Rota and Tinian based on their academic performance, previous experience and extra-curricular activities, according to local officials.

In a press conference Tuesday, the young delegates stressed the significance of the conference to issues affecting the Commonwealth, particularly on environment, resources and culture.

“I hope to contribute to the benefits of the CNMI,” said Concepcion who, as one of senators for the Second Youth Congress, vowed to share what she has learned from the discussion with other leaders of the sector.

Nabors likewise underscored the need to promote education among the youth, adding the Hawaii meeting is an opportunity for him to interact with other delegates coming from diverse cultural background.

“Education is a big key in pushing growth of the CNMI. With education comes knowledge. With knowledge, comes power and success,” he said.

Palacios, on the other hand, said he is looking forward to learning environmental issues that can help address the problems confronting the CNMI, such as coral reefs, preservation of the indigenous culture and the solid waste problem of the Puerto Rico dumpsite.

The three, who will be away for 10 days, pledged to share the knowledge gained from the conference — the first ever youth discussion on global sustainability, human rights and peace. Only two island entities from Micronesia have been invited to the meeting organized by the Hawaii government.

In a message on the eve of their departure, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio encouraged the CNMI delegates to absorb all the information and to interact with other participants in order to share these with other students on the island.

“The more you learn about other countries, the better for you to disseminate this experience to your generation,” he told them. “Some of you don’t have this opportunity to travel. They don’t have any idea of the big picture of what is there on the other side of the island.”

Added Lt. Gov. Jesus R. Sablan: “Whatever you get out of this conference will help the future generation.”

Supporters of the Millennium Young People’s Congress include UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, the World Travel and Tourism Council, and Green Globe, the world’s leading accreditation program for sustainable travel and tourism.