Youth Symposium for Mauritius

YSM's second edition is now over. Marked by intense group discussions, amazing coherence and other special moments, it arguably was a memorable one for our participants and for us, organisers. 10 solutions have so far been collected - these will be further improved, detailed and even have their proper action plans drafted by our participants. As part of our commitment to continuously re-invent our way of doing things, we will this time work in close collaboration with our members so that we come up with a report that is both user-friendly and comprehensive. We congratulate all our participants for having brilliantly completed this journey!

Photo credits: Madhav Narroo

It is with a determined and forward-looking attitude that we set a new milestone in our journey so far: on Thursday 8th December, the YSM’s executive committee officially launched the second edition in a brief opening ceremony in which were conveyed several guests, especially our patron, His Excellency Mr Barlen Vyapoory, Vice-President of the Republic of Mauritius. After a couple of stirring speeches and once the formalities were completed, our participants engaged in a thought-provoking conference pertaining to the mitigation of juvenile delinquency. It goes without saying that, thanks to our modified approach to debating and to the high level of our candidates, we collected a decent number of novel and well-developed solutions. Well done!

The executive committee of the Youth Symposium for Mauritius is pleased to announce that the following candidates have been selected to participate in the second edition to be held in mid-December:

-Himshikha Seetah
-Yash Bujun
-Dilmohamud Bilall
-Ashfaaq Kazi
-Sally Wong
-Medaavi Gopaul
-Swarna Naojee
-Rushil Ramlochun
-Taariq Abdullatif
-Roushikha Maunick
-Nabeel Hingun
-Jasen Thondee
-Prettysha Appadoo
-Hania Rasool
-Shania Ramma
-Tejaswinee Budoo
-Yudish Sohorye
-Nadiir Cassim
-Tavisen Veeramoothoo
-Heshwyn Appadoo
-Imaan Hingun
-Vasoudhabye Bulloo
-Nabil Khodabaccus
-Namita Maunick
-Zahraa Patel

They have been successful in demonstrating, inter alia, their good academic effort, leadership potential and a genuine interest in community service. We congratulate them and hope that their problem-solving skills and ability to think critically will be reflected in the solutions they propose!

Quite often we are left dumbfounded by the harmful deeds of others, whether they act at an individual, national or international level. As such, we tend to forget that inside each one of us lies the inherent potential to do good and to think differently from what is mainstream.

The YSM seeks to tap into that very potential by providing the youth of Mauritius with an open platform for the discussion of utilitarian trailblazing measures. It is our sincere belief that we can still mend a small part of what has been broken, especially in our country.

Join us in our enterprise by applying for the second edition of the Youth Symposium for Mauritius to be held during the month of December!

Venues: US Embassy, College du st Esprit, and Mahatma Gandhi Institute.

Application Form (Download, fill, and mail back to us)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GYhediDjdKR4H7ngEpQzY_u8Yf2zdm63co_DnM1IPT0/edit

For more information, do not hesitate to contact us via FB or email.

As we stated earlier this year, we will be carrying out a second YSM edition, boosted by the exceptional outcome of the first series of conferences held in June. This time, sessions are provisionally scheduled to be conducted in December. Once again, we will do our best to address specific problems affecting Mauritius, including the rampant issue of juvenile delinquency and the relative inefficiency of our transport system. Our objective remains as it was: proposing clear and intelligent solutions to whatever seems to be plaguing our motherland.

If you are a young patriot passionate about brainstorming, problem-solving or responsible citizenship and wish to gain invaluable experience in a fun environment, then do apply to participate! Simply click on the link below, download the form, fill it, and send it back to us before the 25th November. Your ideas are what will inspire change.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GYhediDjdKR4H7ngEpQzY_u8Yf2zdm63co_DnM1IPT0/edit

YSM Application Form.docx YOUTH SYMPOSIUM FOR MAURITIUSEmpower the Youth to Enlighten the World Application Form Program Description: The Youth Symposium for Mauritius is a program aiming to assemble a community of young leaders who are interested in government, world affairs, societal and human issues, and who have in ...

Earlier today, we met His Excellency Mr Barlen Vyapoory, Vice President of the Republic, and finally hand-delivered the report of the first YSM edition to him. Mr Vyapoory's genuine enthusiasm was clear to us, as he heartily congratulated us for our work and pledged to do his best to distribute the report to the various ministries, relevant organisations and media of the island. This way, whatever measures our members have proposed will hopefully inspire those in a position of power, hence improving the scope for sustainable development in Mauritius.
However, this is not the end. Following the success of our June conferences, we have firmly decided to carry out a second YSM edition, which will start in November. Applications will open soon, so stay tuned!

“A new era of development” is what the Minister of Finance seems to be aiming at after his Budget Speech for this year. He has set two major targets, namely achieving a 4.1% Annual Growth Rate for 2016-2017, and decreasing the budgetary deficit down to 3.3%. The measures proposed to reach these goals are, as always, moot. Some have a socialist tinge, like that of decreasing tax on vehicles and or giving living allowances to destitute people, while others can be termed as recurring, such as developing the blue/green economy or creating industrial parks to encourage investment. There were some “classical” ideas – better road infrastructure, improving public health services, increasing taxes on ci******es and alcohol – which were matched by the more innovative ones : the local manufacturing of motorcycles, the fusion of parastatal bodies, the Regulatory Sandbox License amongst others. We also had a fair share of rather surprising measures, which included the distribution of tablets to Std 1 and Std 2 pupils, fiscal exemptions to certain enterprises and the allowances given to socio-religious groups.

What is your opinion of this Budget 2016? What are some ideas that you think are missing?

Interestingly, a few of the solutions announced by the Minister - such as better reaching out to Africa in terms of trade and regional cooperation, or revamped investment frameworks and facilities - were, prior to the Budget 2016, propounded by a few of our members, namely Vegen Soopramanien, Avish Buramdoyal and Segaren Parasuraman, in our Economy conference. Young leaders indeed!

https://youtu.be/8YQIaOldDU8

Our Future | Narrated by Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman narrates this hopeful, must-watch short film about the need to solve the climate change problem. Video by the United Nations. Subscribe to TDC...

All good things, sadly, come to an end. Saturday 2nd July's session, revolving this time around Energy, was the fifth and final YSM conference for our first edition. Once again, the presenting team put in some intensive efforts, which conduced to a brilliant brainstorming of solutions to energy management issues in Mauritius.

PS- We will keep you posted on a highly probable second YSM edition to be held in November/December. Stay tuned! :)

YSM's 4th conference on the theme of Equity. Apart from witnessing a very detailed presentation of innovative solutions, we also had the pleasure of welcoming some fellow brothers and sisters from the African Leadership University. :)

Those interested please sign up on https://goo.gl/kAENHK