Essay winners show their passion for TT

Fayola Walkins, of St Joseph Convent, St Joseph and Kervin Johnson of Harmon School of SDA, Tobago, were awarded first place in the Ministry of Tourism’s “Pen your Passion” Essay competition.

Walkins, winner of the 17 to 19 age group, received $5000 towards her education, a Samsung D500 prepaid cellphone and $50 air time courtesy TSTT. The prize-giving ceremony was held at the Marriott Hotel, Port-of-Spain. Johnson winner of the 14 to 16 age group received $5000 towards his education, a Samsung X636 prepaid cellphone and $50 airtime.

The Ministry of Tourism partnered with TSTT to launch the Soca Warriors Youth Essay competition in April. The competition targeted teenagers 14 to 19 years and sought to increase awareness of TT as a leading Caribbean tourism destination using the vehicle of this country’s historic qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The essay topic was, “You are selected to be a part of a team going to Germany to support the Soca Warriors at the FIFA World Cup 2006... How would you portray TT as an attractive tourism destination?” The contest attracted over 250 entrants, including teenagers from other Caribbean islands (who were unfortunately disqualified), who were required to write between 300 to 500 words per entry.

Dr Acolla Lewis-Cameron of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, marked all the essays and judged on context, creativity/presentation, style/structure and grammar.

When asked about her success at the competition, Walkins said that after rushing in her essay on the last day of the competition, she did not expect to win. The 17-year-old said she decided to send in an entry at the last minute and e-mailed the essay after spending the day on the Internet gathering information on Germany.

Walkins had entered several writing competitions over the years and placed second in a former Ministry of Tourism essay competition, as well as received a special prize in a writing competition hosted by the TT Cancer Society. In her essay Walkins wrote that one of her promotional gestures would be the production of videos of TT’s beaches, national parks and festivals which would be donated to schools and universities around Germany in addition, she wrote, she would market items from our local craftsmen.

For Johnson, this was the first time he had entered an essay writing competition. The 14-year-old of Whim Village, Tobago said he took one week to write his essay and did not expect to reach as far as first place. His favourite subject is English and he said he enjoyed writing about TT “otherwise known as a tourist paradise.”

An excerpt from his essay reads, “...I must have a T-shirt for everyday of my stay in Germany... On the main day, my T-shirt must depict the map of my country surrounded by queens that once represented us and made us proud, at the back of the shirt would be a portrayal of the Soca Warriors team.”

In his address, Tourism Minister, Howard Chin Lee said the objectives of the competition was to instill a sense of pride and patriotism in the nation’s youth whilst encouraging students to learn more about TT and tourism specifically. He said it also “sought to focus on the development of writing skills - a talent that was often sadly lacking in our country.”

Chin Lee said the Tourism Ministry had undertaken several initiatives to exploit the marketing and promotional opportunities available through the Soca Warriors’ participation in the World Cup finals including the development of a website, the production of a tourism music video, sponsorship of the Berlin Media Center and the staging of a Soca Caravan (a mobile booth highlighting tourism and trade and investment.)

The minister said at a recent meeting of Caribbean Tourism Ministers in the United States he was congratulated by the ministers on the success of the Soca Warriors for “flying the spirit of the Caribbean in Germany during the World Cup finals.”