Young Voices Lead the Conversation at Youth Fest 2026

Young people are often told they are the leaders of tomorrow, but today, they were making it clear that their voices matter right now. The Department of Youth Services marked International Youth Day 2026 with a Youth Fest that put Belizean youth at the center of the conversation, not only as performers and participants, but as organizers, debaters, artists and emerging decision-makers. The event brought together youths from Belize District, Orange Walk and Cayo for a day filled with culture, creativity, leadership and national pride. News Five’s Britney Gordon stopped by to see how the festival is encouraging young people to step up, speak out and help shape the Belize they want to inherit. Here’s that story.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Fifteen-year-old Deshly Lanza is stepping into leadership this summer after becoming an intern at the Department of Youth Services. As part of the department’s celebration of International Youth Day, Deshly and several of her peers hosted the 2026 Youth Fest, and that gives young people the opportunity to connect, have fun, and share their opinions on topics that matter to them.

 

Deshly Lanza, Youth Organizer

“This year, because it was managed by young people, teenagers, we decided to have, we decided to make it engaging. This morning we had a debate on whether we thought young people should have a seat at the political table when it comes to making decisions about the country. We had dancing, we had a Garfana Jones group come in, culture stars, they’re banned.  We had Belize Trivia as well, and currently we are having the digital art competition.”

 

Youth Entrepreneurship Coordinator Tanya Danderson says the celebration highlights the energy, ideas and leadership that young people bring to Belize. She emphasized that while International Youth Day creates an important platform, youth voices must be included in national conversations all year round.

 

Tanya Danderson, Coordinator, Department of Youth Services

“I think it is so important because our young people, they have a voice and we need to listen to them. And today’s activity was spearheaded by our young interns and we, the supervisors, we just supported them. And I think it’s important for opportunities like this to be given to your young people because they are making changes as we speak and in the future we can look up to them.”

 

Eighteen-year-old Kyeldani Pott shared that while the experience has been fun, it has also opened doors for meaningful engagement with her peers on topics relevant to their lives.

 

Kyeldani Pott, Participant

“I find it very enjoyable being able to engage with everyone and have these very important discussions that will eventually cultivate indifferent prospective projects or volunteering for the future especially considering that many of us are young leaders or aspiring leaders”

 

The Youth Fest is one of several activities hosted across Belize today uplifting and empowering young people to take charge in their community. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: