Winners of the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport’s Junior Minister of Tourism and the inaugural Genealogy Competitions were awarded their prizes at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, last Friday.
Winning first place and receiving the title of Junior Minister of Tourism, was 17-year-old Josiah Grannum of Harrison College. He was awarded an HP Laptop, $500, a staycation, a round-a-bout game and a trophy.
Second place went to 15-year-old Zahra Spencer of the Ursuline Convent. She received $400, a round-a-bout game and a trophy. Harrison College student Tahirah Mann was third in the competition and was awarded $300, a round-a-bout game and a trophy.
In 2000, the Ministry of Tourism developed and implemented a Secondary Schools’ Speak-Off Competition on current issues and topics related to Barbados and the region’s tourism industry, for students aged 14 to 17. The national competition is facilitated by the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), which seeks to drive tourism awareness and sensitisation among Barbadian youth.
Winner, Josiah Grannum, speaking about his participation in the competition said: “It was very exciting and the research that I had to do to get into it was very interesting, so I’m glad that I actually did it…. I would love to see more young people like myself actually interested in tourism and educated about it, so we can know what our part to play is, so that we can participate.”
In the inaugural Genealogy Competition, the Barbados Department of Archives and the BTMI invited interested students to submit one family tree representing both sides of their family, maternal and paternal, accompanied by a summary description in English and where possible photos.
There were two categories in the competition, seniors aged 12 to 16 and juniors aged seven to 11. In the secondary category, the winner was 14-year-old Gabrielle Lucas of Christ Church Foundation School, who received a trip for two to Panama and a trophy as her prize. Placing second was Springer Memorial School student, 12-year-old Haleigh Nicholls, who received a tablet and trophy. The third placed winner was 13-year-old Kai Merritt of Harrison College who was awarded $300 and a trophy.
Gabrielle Lucas, speaking about her winning entry, stated: “…I had to ask my grandparents, my aunts and my uncles, … a lot of my family to get all the information; and it was really an exciting thing to do, and I really enjoyed it.”
Meanwhile, all three prizes in the junior category of the Genealogy Competition went to students of St. Winifred’s School. Eight-year-old Janique Alleyne was the winner and was awarded a trip for two to Panama and a trophy. Receiving a tablet and trophy for his second place prize was Grayson Bissado-DeFreitas, while seven-year-old Hailey Billet’s third place earned her $500 and a trophy.
Little Janique explained that she had to raise her hand to let her teacher know she wanted to enter the competition and the tree she painted was green and brown with petals and pictures of her family. When asked how she felt about winning, she said “I feel very happy but I think everyone’s a winner”.
Prizes were awarded by Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill; Chairman of the BTMI, Shelly Williams; BTMI’s Chief Product Development Officer, Marsha Alleyne and Archivist, Karen Proverbs. All students who entered the competitions received a certificate of participation.