ON October 23-27, students from all over the CNMI came together to participate in the 2022 Close-Up Youth Summit at the Saipan World Resort. The Close Up Youth Summit is an opportunity for students to research local problems and brainstorm solutions affecting our community. They also got a close-up opportunity to meet and discuss their thoughts with professionals and lawmakers who work daily to battle the same issues.
During the first day of the summit, students voiced out the different issues that they felt were important and shared them with each other. They also played icebreaker activities to which many had found fun.
“The program instructors made us do icebreaker activities and I loved it! Games such as rock-paper-scissors and a wink version of Mafia alleviated the tension in the room. People were hyping each other up, screaming, yelling, and cheering. It was fun watching students having fun with each other despite being from different schools and islands,” says Amira De Guzman from Marianas High School.
Brylle Angelo from Dr. Rita H. Inos High School stated, “All of the icebreaker activities were entertaining and fun. One that I really enjoyed was the ‘Pick a Side’ activity. Not only was it a way to make us learn more about the people’s preferences in the room, but it also showed that everyone might have a different perspective and opinion from you.”
Later, the students broke into different groups known as subcommittees where they will work with others on identifying the problems affecting the CNMI. Over the next few days, the students collaborated with one another in researching the issue they chose, and began writing their own proposals to address the problem. Instructors gave them guidance on how to write their drafts, and the students engaged in discussions over their chosen issue. They were also able to get insights from experts from different departments and organizations in drafting their proposals, as well as U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan.
Once completed, all subcommittees presented their bill to everyone at the summit. Their proposal was then challenged during a brief debating period where other committees were able to ask tough questions about the group’s solution. By the time the debate was over, all students then voted on whether the bill that was presented should be passed or not. Some groups were not able to rack up enough votes to continue, while others who did get enough votes got the chance to present their proposals to dignitaries the next day.
All committees wrote captivating proposals that would help address their specific issue. When we asked which bills presented stood out to them, Andrew Sunderland from Saipan Southern High School stated, “The MRI proposal of creating and implementing them here in the CNMI stood out to me. It is an issue that it has been postponed for so long despite it having already met the governor’s request for specific details. Instead, it has been ignored for a year and still is.”
Another student, Jane Mozunder stated, “One proposal from the Committee on Education’s Subcommittee on Mismanagement of School Funds stood out to me. This committee emphasized the significance of managing school funds because it can have a significant impact. Because of the mismanagement of funds, schools in the CNMI have broken infrastructure, fewer materials, and more! This is a critical issue because it affects students and their future.”
On the final day of the summit, subcommittees that were able to get their bills passed the previous day were presented to members of the CNMI Legislature. Members of the House, Senate, and the gubernatorial candidates took the time to listen to the students’ proposals and express their opinions on the issues.
When asked about what their thoughts were on the Close-Up Summit, Rep. Tina Sablan stated, “I enjoyed the Close-Up Youth Summit very much and appreciated the opportunity to hear from island youth about the issues they feel are most important, and the solutions they propose to the problems they see. Being informed and getting involved in the issues affecting our islands are part of being a good citizen. The CNMI needs its young people to do both if we are to make progress as a community. The Close-Up program provides a powerful opportunity for young people to learn about issues together, and brainstorm ideas, and I absolutely believe students should continue to gather for events like this in the future.”
The four-day-long summit was a great learning experience for all the students that attended. They were able to meet with members of our government that continue to help the changes needed in our community and learn more about the issues affecting our Commonwealth.
This summit has also shown that it is important for the youth to become engaged with Civics and Government. When we asked about their thoughts about this, Jakey De Leon Guerrero of MHS stated, “Just as students need to be financially literate to succeed in life, students must also be literate in how the government operates in order to prosper. They need to be educated so that they have the ability to have an impact on their community. Soon, the manhoben will be the ones being asked for questions on what to do, and it is up to us, the manhoben, to learn as much as we can about the government because everyone is affected by the government, one way or another.”
Another student, Jerome Manzon stressed that it is important to “voice out to elected officials what we want to get done and address community issues to them. It is important to understand the process of how a law is made so that they can thoroughly think about what issues they want officials to address and work on.”
We also asked many of the students what they learned from this summit and the impact this has had on them. Jimmina Flamar from Kagman High School noted, “The program gave me a lot of perspectives. Listening to others share what they’re truly passionate about and hearing all the amazing proposals, some of which I never knew about and some I never took seriously and this program opened my heart to understand the relevance of withstanding the importance of our people, environment, culture, and economy. Also, Close-Up encouraged me to improve my public speaking and leadership skills.”
Dennise Miguel of Tinian Jr. Sr. High School commented, “One of the best ways for students to voice their opinions are programs like the Close-Up Youth Summit. It shows the perspective of the impact students can make concerning matters in their environment and other issues.”
Students deserve a voice in the community and in our government. The youth’s voices matter, Klin De Leon Guerrero stresses. “In my opinion, our voices, the youth, are the most crucial out of all the age groups. At the end of the day, we will be the ones who take over once our current leaders step down from their roles. If we feel that something is a problem, it is most likely a serious problem, if there was something we could do about it we would’ve done it by now but it is out of our hands because of our adolescence. I truly believe that we should be given a chance and not shut down or neglected because of our age. Once we take the place of our leaders it is then our turn to prepare the next generation to take over, all for the sake of our well-being and survival.”
“I loved how the elected and appointed government officials were welcoming to all the students and inspired them to continue advocating and being problem solvers. I love how the students could see themselves being future policymakers of our community because they will be and I feel like the Close Up Summit gives them a couple of days to practice doing that one day,” PSS Social Studies Coordinator Vinni Orsini said when we asked about his thoughts.
The Close-Up Youth Summit was a great opportunity for students throughout our islands to learn more about our government and the issues that affect our Commonwealth. The students left satisfied and ecstatic for being able to come to this event. We thank the Close-Up Foundation, the CNMI government, PSS, and the many different departments that assisted in the expert panel section of the summit. We would also like to thank the different delegates that came to the summit to meet with the youth along with all the students that came to participate.
Students pose for a group photo at the 2022 Close-Up Youth Summit.
Members of the CNMI Legislature listen to proposals made by the students.
Students present their proposal to members of the CNMI Legislature.
Students listen to Shirley Norita as she gives her insights during the expert panel section of the summit.
