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By Roberto Morejón
With the freshness of age, without shirking the high responsibility of addressing crucial issues, a representation of young people from Cuba's secondary education debated in Havana the rigorous reality of today, in a country under a tight U.S. blockade.
A little less than 300 delegates of FEEM, Federation of High School Students, and invited guests reflected in a relaxed dialogue on concerns and certainties, and the need to work for a country where young people can find their life project.
Strengthening the internal structure of the organization was one of the FEEM's most urgent achievements.
With 270,000 members, the collective has a lot to say and do, regardless of the fact that its mission is to study.
However, as those gathered in this capital city, in a dialogue to which the President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel, contributed, there is a need to exchange points of view about communication, political-ideological work, sports, pedagogical and artistic education and the development of citizens' values.
This great family, as they call themselves, the president stressed, poses problems and also solutions.
It is the contribution of this age group to the wealth of ideas essential in a society forced to face daily misfortunes, in a context of acute material shortages, derived from external harassment and its own inadequacies.
In this atmosphere, the high school students had the opportunity to discuss about realities that are sometimes painful, such as the fact that there are children in vulnerable conditions in the classrooms, a minority that sometimes uses stimulants and others that, in spite of the Family Code, practice discriminatory attitudes.
Concerning teenage pregnancy, the imperative of making critical incursions into social networks and the defense of integral culture in a world where the powers are trying to impose an intellectual colonization, are some of the concerns and lines of work of Cuban adolescents and young people.
At this juncture, the youth organization discussed how to listen to and represent tastes, interests and expectations, even dissimilar according to the school and territories.
Cuban society is pleased to see that the younger generations are immersed in what occupies everyone and in the projects to achieve the desired welfare.