Today, February 13, 2015 at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Agency office at Brades, Mrs. Claudette Weekes hosted the presentation of the Best In Country Winners of the 2014 OECS Essay Competition.
At the brief presentation ceremony Mrs. Weekes opened with remarks where she gave a brief back ground of the competiton.
The OECS Essay Competition has been hosted by the ECCB since 1996, she said, pointing out that “It is geared towards stimulating critical thinking among the students of the Union (ECCU) and toward motivating students’ engagement in discussions on issues that impact the development of the OECS countries.”
She reminded that the competition is launched in November each year and is open to students of the ECCB member countries ages 14 to 19. The entries are judged in two categories: ages 14 to 16 and ages 17 to 19. The essays must be 750 to 1000 words and must be typewritten. She also explained that the students “are assessed for content, soundness of points, logical development, knowledge of the subject, command of language and presentation.”
After noting that Montserrat hosted the 2012 and 2013 winners in Tiffany Skerritt and Nadia Browne respectively, she acknowledged that we were not too fortunate to have overall winners in the competition in 2014. “But the ECCB is happy to present certificates to the best students on Montserrat in the 14-16 and the 17-19 categories.”
These are Princess Davis and Tuyen Osborne who received their respective certificates from the Agency representatives.
Tuyen’s essay was titled, “Young People’s Constant Engagement with Social Media has the Potential of Stifling Their Advancement” Princess’ was ““Developing the Creative Talents of the Young People of the OECS is Critical to the Advancement of the Creative Arts Industry in the Region.”
Both the Montserrat Community College’s (MCC) and the Montserrat Secondary School’s (MSS) participation and support in last year’s essay competition were duly noted and appreciated by the ECCB. For this the Principal of the college Dr. Ian Tolan and headmistress Mrs. Cherlyn Hogan each received a certificate from the Bank in recognition of this.
Dr. Ian Tolan had this to say on receipt of the certificate. “I think this OECS competition is important because it builds character, it enhances skills of our students and gives them a sense of confidence which they can take into their subjects.” He said when they do well with their counterparts not only OECS but Caribbean on a whole, “they are on equal part not only oecs but Caribbean as a whole…”
Meanwhile Mrs. Hogan also expressed congratulations and encouragement to other students to participate in the competition. “I wish to congratulate both Stuyen and Princess for their achievements, along with other students in their classes rose to the challenge,” she said.
“It allows students to think critically and to develop their communication skills,” she said as she thanked ECCB, “for their continued support of our students.”
She at the same cited her recognition of Mrs. Cleo Cassell over the years. “I want to recognises and thank Mrs. Cleo Cassell for her involvement in preparing students for the competition…” she said.
Mrs. Weekes in closing remarks, announced at the close, that since the inception of the competition the ECCB has awarded grants amounting to EC$256,000.00 to students and their respective schools. She closed by informing that the topics for this year’s competition are:
- Mass media have great influence in shaping young people’s ideas, choices and social development. Discuss.
- Given the advancement in communication and technology, the current policies regarding students’ use of cell phones at school need to be revised. Discuss.
- A good character is more important than academic qualifications for young people who aspire to be political leaders in the OECS. Discuss.
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