'Talk Up Yout' season to give Jamaican young men a voice
Published:Wednesday | September 19, 2018 | 12:00 AMKeisha Hill/ Senior Gleaner Writer
'Talk Up Yout', Jamaica's TV show for the youth is back! Episode one of 'Talk Up Yout''s eighth season premieres October 3 at 6 p.m. on Television Jamaica.
The show will have a brand new look and feel, shifting from the panel discussions of the last three seasons to an entire season dedicated to giving Jamaican young men a platform to share their individual stories and experiences from their lives in documentary-type series of episodes.
'Talk Up Yout' continues to honour its core mission of 'Giving the Youth a Voice' by putting the voices of these young men into the living rooms of thousands of Jamaicans and this season, encouraging citizens to look beyond their own perceptions of the lives of young men and listen to the realities being experienced by them. These young men will give a peek into what it is like to be male in Jamaica, beyond the statistics.
"In Jamaica, young men are the overwhelming victims of violent crime and they account for more than 90 per cent of all suicide cases. 'Talk Up Yout' Season 8 is putting a face to these issues," said Empress Golding, co-executive producer of the show.
"Young men are underperforming across the educational system and they are less likely to seek higher education, and their physical and emotional health is compromised. In addition to these issues, male youth experience immense societal pressure to conform to traditional ideas of manhood and masculinity, some of which are now being classified as toxic," Golding said.
According to Golding, Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Statistics and Information Management Unit revealed that in fiscal year 2013-2014, there were 565 offences by perpetrators ages 12 to 17 years, of which only 17 were female. Sexual intercourse with a minor, break-ins, rape, and aggravated assault were the most prevalent offences committed.
Males age 15 to 17 years, according to the report, featured most significantly as perpetrators of these offences, as well as murders, shootings, robbery, and larceny. In addition, a total of 460 male children were transferred from police custody to the Metcalfe Street Juvenile Remand Centre that year.
LACK OF PROGRAMMES
"There are not enough programmes for our young men and they need avenues to express themselves. We are saying to these stakeholders that it is time to focus on our young men and see them in a positive light, and also understand what they have been through," Golding said.
'Talk Up Yout' is powered by National Baking Company, sponsored by CranWATA and produced by Stanley and Empress Productions, with executive producers Nadia Stanley and Golding.
Follow 'Talk Up Yout' on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for information about other amazing activities that the team will be executing during the season and find out how you can get involved in 'Giving the Youth a Voice'.