{"id":350202,"date":"2021-08-19T06:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T20:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=350202"},"modified":"2021-08-19T06:01:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T20:01:00","slug":"guam-cnmi-youth-congresses-take-first-step-toward-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/guam-cnmi-youth-congresses-take-first-step-toward-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Guam, CNMI youth congresses take first step toward collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_350205\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-350205\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Youth-Congress-pix-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Youth-Congress-pix-1.jpg\" alt=\"Screen grab of Guam Youth Congress members and 18th CNMI Youth Congress members during a virtual meeting.\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" class=\"size-full wp-image-350205\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-350205\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the 33rd Guam Youth Congress met virtually with members of the 18th CNMI Youth Congress last Saturday, Aug. 14, for an introductory meeting. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Members of the 33rd Guam Youth Congress met virtually with members of the 18th CNMI Youth Congress last Saturday, Aug. 14, for an introductory meeting. The two youth policy-making bodies, each varying in structure and composition, discussed collaborating on legislation, planning a regional youth conference, and creating a long-term working relationship to benefit the youth of Guam and the CNMI. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis historic meeting between the Guam and CNMI Youth Congress has been years in the making, and is a sign of a new collaboration that we hope will persist throughout the years,\u201d said Guam Youth Congress speaker Stephanie Lorenzo. \u201cWith both Guam and CNMI\u2019s Youth Congress having a female speaker, it is our intent to continue our efforts of cooperation through dialogue and, in doing so, build a better connection between Guam and the CNMI.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>CNMI Youth Congress Speaker Cielo Long described the meeting as the first of many meetings both the CNMI and Guam youth congresses will hold throughout this term. \u201cIt was an honor to witness the collaborative efforts between all members, and I am ecstatic to serve as an example of teamwork beyond differences. Working relationships between two separate bodies is definitely possible,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n<p>Representative Nolan Flores said the introductory meeting showcased the as yet untapped potential of working closely with the CNMI\u2019s regional neighbors. \u201cAs youth, we must take the lead in combining our individual strengths and turning them into collective, meaningful action for all of the Marianas and the Pacific,\u201d Flores said. <\/p>\n<p>Guam Youth Congress vice speaker Al Edrich Labang said he is grateful for the productive bilateral conversation with the CNMI Youth Congress, adding that there are many issues concerning the youth that both the Guam Youth Congress and the CNMI Youth Congress can tackle together. \u201cAdditionally, I commend speaker Stephanie Lorenzo of the Guam Youth Congress and speaker Cielo Long of the CNMI Youth Congress for their commitment to strengthening our islands\u2019 relationship. As we further our relationship regionally, I look forward to connecting with our other neighbors in Micronesia.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>As Guam\u2019s youth legislative body, the 33rd Youth Congress is composed of elected representatives from each of the island\u2019s villages and high schools. Representatives create, discuss, and pass bills, which are then introduced in the Guam Legislature. (PR)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Members of the 33rd Guam Youth Congress met virtually with members of the 18th CNMI&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":350206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[26,51],"class_list":["post-350202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-cnmi","tag-guam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}