Ministry of Education

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Participants in the now concluded York University Emerging Global Leaders Programme (from left) Shenice Douglas from Merl Grove High School; Rashane Graveney from Kingston College, and Chantal Parker from St. Andrew High School for Girls.

Three Jamaican high school students are in Toronto, Canada, participating in a two-day workshop on leadership and skills development.

Shenice Douglas from Merl Grove High, Chantal Parker from St. Andrew High and Rashane Graveney from Kingston College, joined other students from Canada and the Caribbean for York University's Emerging Global Leaders Program (EGLP) which takes place on May 10 and 11 on the York University campus.

The EGLP, which has been organized annually by the international education office of York University since 1999, seeks to give fourth and fifth form students the opportunity to explore key concepts and challenges of leadership in Canadian and international contexts, with a special focus on cross-cultural communication and team building.

During the programme students are exposed to a variety of speakers who represent the public and private sectors on the "changing contexts, concepts and challenges of leadership in a global world."

Three Jamaican high school students participated in York University's Emerging Global Leaders Program EGLP) from May 10 to 11. The students and their chaperone were met at Toronto's airport by representatives of their school's past students associations in Canada. From left are Cynthia Hewitt, a teacher at Kingston College and the students' chaperone; Dale Keizs, Lance Seymour and Alex Francis from Kingston College Old Boys Association; Rashane Graveney, student of Kingston College; Claudette Cameron-Stewart, president of the Merl Grove Past Students' Association; Shenice Douglas, student of Merl Grove High; Cherita Girvan-Campbell, president of the St. Andrew Old Girls Association; Chantal Parker, student of St. Andrew High School for Girls; and Paul Barnett, fromthe Alliance of Jamaican Alumni Association's EGLP Coordinator.

So far students from Barbados, St. Kitts and Martinique have participated. The Alliance of Jamaican Alumni Associations (AJAA), which is the umbrella group for more than 40 Jamaican past students associations in Canada, has now partnered with York University and the Bank of Nova Scotia in getting Jamaican students involved.

Paul Barnett, the Alliance's EGLP Coordinator said this is the pilot project for Jamaicans. At the next EGLP which will be held in Barbados in October, the hope is to get at least 10 Jamaican students attending by working closely with the Jamaican alumni associations in Canada.

All three students expressed their excitement at representing their schools and Jamaica at the workshop. They arrived in Canada on Thursday, May 8 accompanied by chaperone, Cynthia Hewitt who is a teacher at Kingston College.

During their short visit in Canada, the students have toured Toronto and paid a courtesy call on Jamaica's Consul General to Toronto Anne-Marie Bonner. The group is scheduled to return to Jamaica on Monday, May 12.

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