REWARDING YEAR FOR MINISTRY OF YOUTH, SPORTS AND CULTURE

By: ELAINE RECKORD

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange (left), greets Olympic and World Champion, Miss Shelly-Ann Fraser, at the Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston, on her return from the World Games held in Berlin, Germany.

The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has had a challenging but rewarding year. During the year, emphasis was placed on youth development and the promotion of our rich cultural heritage.

 It was the year, too, that Jamaica’s track and field athletes made every Jamaican proud with their excellent performances at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Berlin, Germany. They created history by winning a total of 13 medals - seven gold, four silver and two bronze and placing second behind the United States in the medal haul.  

In recognising the achievements of the athletes and under the guidance of the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange, the Ministry organised three days of celebrations dubbed, “The Berlin Salute – A Tribute to our Athletes.” From October 2 to 4. The athletes participated in three days of memorable activities.  

On Friday, October 2, an event called the “Golden Reception” was held at Jamaica House in Kingston under the patronage of Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding and Mrs. Golding.

 This event was attended by leaders of state, the private sector and communities and a wide cross section of sports personalities drawn from track and field and other sporting disciplines.

On Saturday, October 3, a Thanksgiving Service was held for the athletes at the Portmore Seventh-day Adventist Church in St. Catherine. The celebrations continued in western Jamaica on Sunday, October 4, with a fun day and party at the Trelawny Multipurpose Stadium.

Birmingham to Host Jamaica

Meanwhile, the city of Birmingham in the United Kingdom will be hosting the training camp for Jamaica’s track and field athletes, as they prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on August 14, in Berlin, Germany, between Jamaica and the Birmingham City Council, to establish a working partnership between both sides aimed at providing the best possible training camp facilities for the Jamaican team ahead of the 25th (XXV) Olympiad.

The document was signed by President of the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA), Howard Aris, and Leader of Birmingham City Council, Councillor Mike Whitby.

The Ministry also made significant strides in the establishment of Youth Information Centres across the island.

Construction Contracts

 Contracts valued at some $61,525,377 were signed for the construction of two centres in the parishes of Manchester and Westmoreland. Currently, work is ongoing at the sixth centre being built at a section of the Marcus Garvey Skills Training Centre in St. Ann.

“The Ministry’s drive to establish youth friendly spaces will not be complete until youths in all parishes have an avenue to express themselves while being empowered,” Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Senator Warren Newby told JIS News.

 He said that the Westmoreland and Manchester centres were scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010.

NYS Empowerment Programmes

In an effort to ensure that youths were well socialised, the National Youth Service (NYS) organised a number of youth empowerment programmes. Among the programmes was a four-week emergency response training programme aimed at strengthening the country’s mitigation capacity during disasters.

Three hundred and four young people, drawn from several parishes, participated in the programme held at the NYS Training site, Chestervale Campus, St. Andrew. Activities included instructions in first aid, disaster assessment, hazard mapping, land search and rescue, drought and bush fire management, shelter management, biodiversity, emergency management, radio training and fire safety.

 There are plans by the NYS to offer theoretical and practical training in computer repairs to young persons from inner- city communities, so as to prepare them for jobs in the Information Technology industry, or to go on to further education.

The organisation has set up state-of-the-art computer laboratories at the NYS head office in Kingston and at camp sites, the Knox Cobbla Campus in Manchester and the Eco-Village in Chestervale, St Andrew.

 Funds for the project, costing some US$316,000, have been made possible from an agreement between the Governments of Jamaica and Korea.

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange, raps with students of St. Hugh’s High School, at the school’s 110th anniversary Special Assembly, held on the school’s compound at Leinster Road, Cross Roads in Kingston in November.

During the summer months, approximately 5,300 secondary and tertiary level students were employed under the NYS Summer Employment Programme at a cost of some $58 million.

 They were placed in public and private entities for three weeks, during the months of July and August, and provided with a stipend to offset back to school expenses.

NYC Revamped

Earlier in the year, the National Youth Council was revamped to enhance and extend its reach to the country’s young people. As part of the reform process, a registration campaign dubbed “Getting Involved” was carried out, whereby youth clubs across the island were encouraged to register with the Council and access the various benefits provided by the National Centre for Youth Development, including financing for projects and other activities.

Through the work of the Social Development Commission (SDC) and efforts to improve the quality of early childhood institutions in St. Catherine, some 165 institutions received a quantity of supplies, including chairs, desks, reading materials and cleaning agents before the start of the new school term in September.

The idea to help the schools was the vision of the SDC Parish Manager, Edith Morrison, who said that the project started after an assessment of basic schools in the parish.

“We saw where a number of them were ill-equipped and could not be registered and we recognised that there is an importance for early childhood agencies and the children to get a good start,” Mrs Morrison told JIS News.

Mrs. Morrison continued, “With that in mind we started the task of how we in partnership with other agencies, private individuals and private sector agencies can come to the help of these schools and to get them ready.” 

NYPW Established

The channels for youth advocacy and discussion at the highest level on issues affecting them were further enhanced with the establishment of the National Youth Parliamentary Committee Watch (NYPW).

 The body will serve as a watchdog committee, focussing on reviewing Bills and policies, tabled in Parliament, relating particularly to youth mainstreaming objectives, and critically evaluating them.

Young people who excelled in various fields received awards at the annual “Prime Minister’s Youth Awards for Excellence,” hosted by the National Centre for Youth Development.

Seventeen young persons from a total of  27 nominees were presented with awards for excelling in various fields. Included in this year’s ceremony was a brand new award, “The Prime Minister’s Youth Service Organisation Award.”  It was presented for the first time to a service organisation for assisting in the empowerment of youth.

One of the main strategic focuses of the Social Development Commission (SDC) is the establishment and maintenance of community profiles and poverty assessments. In this regard, some 344 community profiles were completed by the Research Department of the SDC. The organisation is currently working on another 261 that will be available by January 2010.

 The profiles contain seven types of information, including spatial, social, economic, social environment, governance and poverty assessment data. They are being used by Government agencies to facilitate the relevant planning for each locale.

In an effort to address the high crime levels and violence in communities and heighten the awareness of citizens and their role in achieving enhanced community safety and security, the SDC partnered with a number of agencies in achieving enhanced community safety and security. Among the agencies are:

• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – Strengthening community Safety through Local Government Capacity-Building and Jamaica Violence Prevention, Peace and Sustainable Development Programme
• USAID Community Empowerment and Transformation (COMET) Project.
• JCF – community
• Department of Local Government

The groundwork has already been done in collaboration with these partners and the communities will set the foundation for increased focus and dialogue on the issue of community safety and security. The SDC has also partnered with the Jamaica Fire Brigade to sensitise citizens/communities on fire prevention and safety.

Meanwhile, the SDC has identified 4,417 Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and 466 active Community Development Committee, umbrella organisations of the CBOs.

Over the year, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT) has worked assiduously to restore Fort Charles and the historic Naval Hospital at the Port Royal National Heritage Site. The project, valued at some $72 million, is being financed under the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), with assistance from the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund.

To boost Jamaica’s heritage tourism, Executive Director at JNHT, Laleta Davis-Mattis, told JIS News during an interview that restorative work was carried out at the site.

“The tour experience has been expanded. We have a reinstalled exhibition, we also have a town tour and a multi-media centre at the Naval Hospital,” she said.

Additionally, restoration work has started on the statue of National Hero, the Rt. Excellent Paul Bogle, located in front of the Morant Bay Courthouse, in St. Thomas. The statue was taken down after it was defaced by a person of unsound mind.

On another note, a preservation plan is being developed to identify sensitive archaeological areas at the Seville Heritage Park in St. Ann. Government has allocated some $59 million under the Tourism Enhancement Fund to restore certain aspects of the Heritage Park.

Despite the economic downturn, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) managed to source funds from corporate sponsors for the hosting of Jamaica’s 47th Independence/Emancipation celebrations, July 31 to August 6, under the theme,” I Believe in Jamaica.”

During the seven days, hundreds of Jamaicans participated in the many cultural activities held islandwide.

 To encourage the participation of citizens, the Commission created a Festival Visual Impact Programme, which included Festival Fashions, a Shop Window Display Competition and the decoration of Town squares.

This year, also, the Jamaica Gospel Song finals, was added as a major event, along with the Emancipation/Independence forum which was hosted at the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Library.

 The Gospel song competition took a new twist this year with the traditional road shows being replaced with an all-island show. For the first time, too, an album titled, ‘I Believe in Praise,’ with songs performed by the 10 finalists in the Competition, was launched on June 24, at the Louise Bennett Garden Theatre, in Kingston.    

Another activity in the area of culture was the formation of the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association.  It was established in February coinciding with activities marking Reggae Month. It aims to address some of the challenges facing the music industry, including those relating to access to information, advocacy, business advice and financial credit. It is chaired by renowned international reggae artiste, Frederick “Freddie” McGregor.

 The Association’s membership comprises some 109 active music industry stakeholders, primary individuals, firms and companies, and partner organisations, approximately half of whom are artistes, booking agents, promoters, events planners and teachers.     

Hundreds of projects were registered to observe this year’s Labour Day, held on Monday May 25 under the theme: Ketch the Vibes: Volunteerism, Intervention, Beautification, Empowerment for Success (VIBES). Six projects received national focus. These were:- St Ann's Bay Hospital renovations and installation of water cooler in St Ann;. Riversdale multi-purpose court and community centre in St Catherine; Ginger resuscitation project in Top Alston, Clarendon; Blue Hole Nature Park restoration, Montpelier, St James; Lucea Fire Station office expansion, Hanover; Belle Isle Community Centre; and Grange Hill Comprehensive High School painting and clean-up in Westmoreland.

Before the event, the Minister said she was happy with the support from citizens and sponsors of the event.

"I'm thrilled by the response that we have been getting at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture to Labour Day. Yes, we are in a global recession, but our spirit for helping each other and working together for a better Jamaica hasn't receded,” she said.

“So, I am very proud to see the partnerships that are developing and strengthening across the country for Labour Day; partnerships involving community clubs, service clubs, Government agencies and Ministries, the police and the JDF, schools, churches, and the private sector. I encourage more of these partnerships, which are absolutely vital to ensuring our success as a united and strong nation," Minister Grange stated.