Michael Dunkley described delight with the turnout for a One Bermuda Alliance-organised youth forum held last night.

The two-hour long forum took shape as a series of round table talks held at CedarBridge Academy, with participants able to table-hop to address the topics and converse with the relevant representatives as they saw fit.

“We tried to create an atmosphere where the young people could be comfortable,” Mr Dunkley, the Premier, said of the format.

The OBA was represented by senators, members of parliament, and candidates in the upcoming General Election taking place next week.

Mr Dunkley characterised the conversations as “deep”.

“At my table, there’s been every issue from the state of the economy, to education, to healthcare, to seniors, to cannabis reform, to road safety,” he said.

Echoing the Premier, Nalton Brangman, candidate for Warwick South East, said he was pleased by the turnout.

He said he was even more pleased by the questions raised and the subject matter they covered.

“It is not only a breath of fresh air, but a sign of hope,” Mr Brangman said.

“When the young people are engaged, their care for their future means they are paying greater attention to every detail that’s going on, regardless of the political parties,” he said.

Bob Richards, Minister of Finance, said that “great discussions” had taken place at his table.

“They’re invested in Bermuda,” he said of the youth.

“It was very encouraging.”

Trae Cannonier, of It’s That Type of Party, said: “This gives people our age — who especially feel that both political parties are hard to reach — it gives us the perfect opportunity to hear from One Bermuda Alliance the questions that we need answered.”

Mr Cannonier said that he often heard from older residents that today’s youth are the most politically involved the island had ever seen.

“I think it’s dawned on us that 20 years from now it’s going to be us in their positions — so we really need to start paying attention so that we can figure out what going on,” he said.

Eron Hill, with Generation Next, said that he was disappointed that no member of the OBA had opted to participate in the community forum held by his organisation.

He said the OBA event had been successful in allowing youth the opportunity to speak with their elected officials.

“Young people have been able to engage with their leaders to ask them the tough questions,” Mr Hill said.

“It remains to be seen whether those answers are sufficient. For me personally, they aren’t.”

The youth presence at the event — as well as that held by the Progressive Labour Party and Generation Next — were indicative of the demographic being “alive to the issues”, Mr Hill said.

“They are very much interested and passionate about the future of this country and the sustainability of this country, and they need answers — they don’t just want things to be said to be done, they want them to be seen to be done, and in fact done.”

The youth, Mr Dunkley said, would be the people carrying the island forward in the future.

“To see their keen interest in Bermuda and their ability to want to be involved in politics, I think is very gratifying and heartening for all of us here,” he said.

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