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And now, it's being used as more than just words: The Global Parish Project; a non-profit community based organization is seeking to empower young people through the project "Youth Voices" by encouraging a stronger sense of identity. Television Personality Ya-Ya Marin Coleman who's never short of spoken words - is leading the project and she told us more about it.

Ya-Ya Marin Coleman, Organizer
"So right now for the next 2 years there is a project called "Youth Voices." The name itself tells you what this is about. Young people between 16 and 22 years old - right now we are focused on Belize City - will have an opportunity through spoken words to explain their reality, whatever that reality might be, it may be issues of poverty, it may be issues of feeling ignored because we have all this talent and what you hear consistently on the news are negative things about people between the ages of 16 and 22 years old.

It might be 'I am angry,' it might be 'I feel like the system is oppressing me', It might be that 'I want to legalize marijuana,' whatever the issue might be for young people, whatever story young people want to tell. Youth Voices will be the community platform for them to do it through an art form. Now this Sunday at 5 o' clock at the Battlefield Park - that will be the park out in town Belize City between Regent and Albert streets - we will have a registration process, so anyone who feels that they have the skills, the ability to do Spoken Word, to express whatever their reality might be."

The competition is opened to youth ages 16-22 currently based in Belize City. To enter you must send your original piece to the Global Parish Organization no later than November 14th. On November 27 a screening session will take place after which participants will be selected to participate in an open Mic launch at the Image Factory on December 3. For more information you can call Yaya Marin Coleman at 661-8050 or Nyasha Laing at 604-5571.