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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Commerce held its annual Awards and Prize-Giving Ceremony for its 2019 Essay Writing Competition on Friday 31st May, 2019. The ceremony was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade & Commerce’s conference room.

The Minister with responsibility for Youth, the Hon. Frederick Stephenson; Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Sandy Peters-Phillips; along with senior officials, principals, teachers, students and parents, were there to witness the students' accomplishments. 

The sponsor for the competition, Digicel, was represented at the ceremony by Country Manager, Ms. Fanta Williams. 

The participating primary schools were:  Brighton Methodist School, Kingstown Preparatory School and the Lowmans Leeward Anglican School.  The participating secondary schools were:  Bishop’s College Kingstown, Buccament Bay Secondary School, Saint Vincent Girls’ High School, Saint Vincent Grammar School and the Thomas Saunders Secondary School.  The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Community College was the only participating tertiary institution.

The competition was divided into two (2) categories:  The Envoys category, (Age range of 9 – 13 years); and the Ambassadors category, (Age range of 14 – 18 years).  The prizes for the Envoys Category were: 1st -Trophy, Phone & EC$300.00, 2nd - Trophy, Phone & EC$200.00 and 3rd - Trophy, Phone & EC$100.00. 

The prizes for the Ambassadors category were: 1st  – Trophy, Phone & EC$500.00, 2nd – Trophy, Phone & EC$400.00 and 3rd – Trophy, Phone & EC$300.00.

The Saint Vincent Girls’ High School took the 1st, 2nd and 4th positions in the Ambassadors category.  Miss Milan Compton won 1st place, Miss Mikayla Friday won 2nd place, and Miss Zuania Baptiste won 4th place.  Mr. Cimalon Alexander won 3rd place for his essay and Miss Aaliyah Henry won 5th place. They both represented the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Community College. 

For the Envoys category, Ms. Ajani Dyer of the Girls’ High School won 1st place, Mr. Jhamari Henry of the Lowmans Leeward Anglican School took the 2nd Prize, Ms. Jodee Glasgow of the Bishop’s College Kingstown won the 3rd place and Mr. Jair Patrick of the Saint Vincent Grammar School won 4th place; with Mr. Tyler Matthias of the Kingstown Preparatory School placing 5th in the competition.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade & Commerce takes this opportunity once again to congratulate the winners and the participants of this year’s Competition, and to express its appreciation to Digicel for its sponsorship and continued support.

The Ministry’s Annual Essay Writing Competition is an initiative by the Ministry to foster the continual development of our nation's youth, through the promotion of research, improving reading and writing skills, and discussion on issues related to trade, bilateral, regional and multilateral diplomacy as well as consular affairs.

In addition to the prizes that were won, the Ministry published a Special Edition of its Diplomatic Courier to share the essays of the top 5 winners in each category.

SOURCE: API