Marbella United Nationalities Summit

THE UNITED NATIONALITIES MARBELLA SUMMIT

ADDRESSING THE ISSUES FACED BY OUR YOUTH

The Harbour Marbella was the perfect backdrop for the United Nationalities of Marbella Summit. Led by Nicole King and Georgina Shaw, the event brought together influential members of the community to tackle the issues faced by young people in our area, including a lack of career opportunities and work experience, the alarming increase of suicide attempts by people aged 10-to-24, and a lack of leisure activities specifically aimed at this age group.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF NICOLE KING/ THE UNITED NATIONS MARBELLA SUMMIT AND SHUTTERSTOCK

Nicole King and Georgina Shaw

The event saw entrepreneurs, members of the media, and other leaders join forces with representatives of the Marbella Town Hall and suicide prevention charities. The aim was to discuss problems and brainstorm solutions to help our youth. Participants included Remedios Bocanegra (Foreign Residents Councillor from the Marbella Town Hall), Mirijana Stefanovic (the President of the Marbella International University Centre/ MIUC), and Ana Lancho and José Manuel Dolader (from the suicide prevention charity, La Barandilla). Brenda Cuby of GIBSAMS (a confidential and anonymous free call/live chat service that is open daily from 6pm to midnight) provided key information on youth suicide. Sr. Dolader, meanwhile, shared worrisome statistics, including the fact that the number of youths who die via suicide doubles that of people who lose their lives in road accidents.

THREEFOLD CHANGE IS NEEDED

Nicole King urged attendees to take action so as to make Marbella a better place for younger generations. She asked for businesses and individuals to take all the steps needed to make Marbella more appealing to younger people in three main ways: Z By creating safe, fun hangout spots for youths Z By offering them internships

Art can help save lives

and work opportunities Z By expanding the La Barandilla suicide prevention hotline so it provides 24/7 service and to provide help in Spanish and English Nicole tells us, “Many attendees had suggestions we found very useful. For instance, Lorraine Williamson proposed the provision of suicide prevention assistance via chat. Some teens are reticent to speak on the phone but are more expressive when texting, simply because they are so used to these technologies.” At the event, MIUC students expressed their needs and urged local businesses to provide more internships and work opportunities.

REASONS TO STAY IN MARBELLA

For Nicole, making Marbella interesting from a personal and professional perspective is key if we are to stop talented youths from leaving our town. “Many international kids are brought here and put into good schools but after high school, they often go back to their countries of origin because there are few opportunities and places where they feel they belong.” Nicole recalls that in her youth, which she spent in Weybridge, Surrey, “there were always fun things for us to do. We would spend all morning playing tennis, then have lunch, play squash in the afternoon, and have a party or event to attend in the evening. If children are to be truly privileged to live in Marbella, they need fun, safe places to enjoy themselves and socialise. Our aim is for businesses to function yearround and to provide youths with good reasons to stay and make Marbella their home.” When we mention that Marbella has many resorts and clubs with sporting and other events, Nicole answers, “Yes, but people need to organise more events for them. Currently, clubs don’t encourage youths to hang out together. You can book a golf lesson, but that’s not the same as spending time with your group of friends. Marbella needs more places for youths to hang out. They don’t necessarily have to be cheap; they just need to be appealing and offer specific services to this demographic. We want businesses and individuals to actively demonstrate that youths are valued members of our community and we want them to get involved.” ›

WORK AND INTERNSHIPS ARE NEEDED

In the realm of work, Nicole mentioned that businesses need to “offer decent jobs with career and work experience opportunities. If we want to attract more people to buy homes here and relocate, we have to provide a thriving professional environment for them and their children.” Nicole is working alongside the Town Hall, CIT Marbella (La Asociación de Empresarios y Profesionales de Marbella) and The British Chamber of Commerce (among others) to find ways to get businesses more socially committed to young people. “We are looking to create a training video that shows companies what they can expect when they have an intern and how to empower their interns to make the most of their experience.”

SCHOOLKIDS AS COMMUNITY LEADERS

Nicole also encourages youths to take an active role in charitable pursuits. She recalls, for instance, that “when COVID-19 started, older people who used to volunteer at charity shops were no longer able to do so. Therefore, children from local schools stepped in.” Schoolkids can take part in charitable activites in so many ways. Nicole elaborates, “Children from different school years could take charge of specific tasks to support charity events – including taking photographs, arranging social media, and the like. We hope that schools can include this type of work as part of their curricula so that children feel they are important to each other and to their community.”

ART FOR A CAUSE

One of Nicole’s most creative projects is #MarbellaLoveMugs, an initiative that supports local charities and artists and promotes the area of Marbella. If you log onto the UNMS site (below) and click on Love Mugs, you will find a limited collection of mugs, each of which was designed by one local artist. Nicole explains that the idea for this initiative arose during lockdown when a mug was “the only way I could get a drawing I made for my granddaughter to her. I then thought that perhaps other people could share their artwork on a mug and contacted some local artists for their feedback.” The mugs make lovely gifts or collectors’ pieces for those who enjoy viewing original artworks in their homes but who may not be able to afford a traditional piece. Nicole says, “The proceeds from this initiative go to the local suicide prevention hotline.” Nicole is constantly looking for new, creative ways to help the community and its youths. Recently, her Love Mugs formed part of a Christmas pop-up shop at the Nina Nolte Gallery (the shop additionally featured accessories by fashion designer, Oscar Udeshi). She is also thinking of creating jingles for TV and radio and different spots to

encourage local media to keep the mental health of Marbella’s youths in mind. “Businesses could even have a small reminder supporting young people at the bottom of their emails. They could provide useful information – including, for instance, the telephone number of the suicide prevention hotline. “Suicide among youths is now a worldwide pandemic,” she says, “and we need to look the problem in the eye and do something about it.” g Discover more by visiting www.u-n-m.org or watching Marbella Now on RTV Marbella. Suicide prevention helplines: La Barandilla from 9am to 9pm every day for Spanish speakers on Tel: 911 385 385 and GIBSAMS for English speakers on Tel: 116 123 from 6pm to midnight daily.