Today is International Youth Day and the young people said they wanted to use the date to say that they are fed up that all young people are portrayed as being up to no good.
Barry McCrory from NICCY said: “If you are to believe everything you read and hear about young people from politicians and the media then you’d think all young people are involved in anti social behaviour and generally being a nuisance.
“In a recent survey it was clearly shown that the vast majority of stories about young people are negative. This fails to mention that most young people contribute to society through voluntary work and are too busy enjoying themselves, getting involved in sport and drama to be involved in anti social behaviour.
Lisa McReynolds from Young NCB NI said: “I think most young people are fed up hearing about how bad they are supposed to be.
“We call on all politicians to think before they comment on so-called bad behaviour of young people. They need to ask ‘what exactly is the problem’ and ask ‘why’ there is an issue.
“The politicians and the organisations that are supposed to support young people need to actually ask us about the issues, and they’ll find that young people can provide solutions.”
Notes
Issued by Andrew McGall (Communications Officer) – 028 9031 1616 or communications@niccy.org