Youth voices crucial in drug abuse prevention, says NCSA

The National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) has emphasised the importance of youth engagement in combating substance abuse, as demonstrated by its recent speech contest for secondary school students. The initiative aims to harness young people’s perspectives and communication skills to inform and influence prevention strategies.

This message came from Hadford Howell, chairman of the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA), as he gave brief remarks during the organisation’s Voices of the Youth Speech Contest Finals held at the Prince Cave Hall on Friday.

“This platform enables the council to engage with the youth at an important and arguably the most critical stage in their budding lives,” he said.

“They will be tomorrow’s adults, and so hearing what our fourth and fifth form students think and are saying about substance abuse is not only important to the council, but is helpful and beneficial to those who as stakeholders, are tasked along with parents, guardians, teachers, and community leaders, with convincing primarily persons 40 and under, to avoid substance use and its abuse.”

He noted that the competition’s two key objectives have easily been met by the participants throughout the several stages of the initiative which began in late 2024, stating: “This contest has two objectives. One, to provide students with the platform to inform and influence substance abuse prevention interventions that relate to them and meet them where they are, and equip students with effective communication skills, using the art of public speaking and research.”

Chief Judge and Toastmaster Beverly Parris commended the participants for their strong performances during the day’s proceedings: “Every presentation this morning was well structured. We heard introductions that caught our attention.

We heard [pieces] that contained statistics, stories, rhetorical questions, and well transitioned from one idea to the other. We heard presentations that were well researched and cited various sources [and] literary devices were used extremely well.

“We want to congratulate you on your creativity [and] original thought.”

When the dust settled, Talesa Boyce of Coleridge and Parry claimed first place with her compelling piece, ‘Drinking Like a Man’. Her victory earned her a range of prizes from sponsors, including a new laptop and a Harrison’s Cave tour pass.