BYDC seeking gun amnesty to stop violence

IN the wake of the recent gun violence in Barbados, one youth development organisation is seeking to submit a petition for a gun amnesty to the Attorney General of Barbados and the Commissioner of Police very soon.

This was revealed by Secretary of the Barbados Youth Development Council (BYDC), Ade O’Neal, at the organisation’s Hues of Youth event held at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society on Sunday. O’Neal added that the organisation is trying to obtain 2 000 signatures for the petition. Last Friday, BYDC held a multi-faith service at the museum while on Saturday, International Youth Day, August 12, they visited Bridgetown where they started to collect the signatures for their petition. He also said that there is a facility online to support the initiative. There are also plans to host some town halls to discuss violence in Barbados.

President of the BYDC, Roshanna Trim, said that the aim of Hues of Youth and the past week of events was to encourage and empower young people. For the youth leader, the event is about showcasing the many positive young people and their different interests and talents.

“We have so many youth businesses and youth organisations, this is only a small fraction of what we actually have in Barbados,” said Trim.

The BYDC, which is the umbrella organisation for all the youth organisations on the island, held the event to encourage young people to join the various organisations which aligned with their interests. Presently the organisation, which has members between the ages of 15-29, showcased 20 of its up-and-coming local entrepreneurs (spa, catering company), youth organisations, and visual and graphic artists at Hues of Youth. In addition to the visual arts exhibition and entrepreneur showcase, there was also a youth talk hosted by Marcus Myers with youth members – Zico John, Luci Hammans, Krystal Hoyte and Donnya Piggott.