Yunique Francis of Jamaica has won the first place in the 2010 Eric Williams 'School Bag' essay competition organised by The Eric Williams Memorial Collection (EWMC) at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.It comprises the research library, archives and museum of Trinidad and Tobago's first Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams and was inaugurated in 1998 by then U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell.
The second and third places went to Sharifa Ammon and Andrew Ali, respectively, both of Trinidad and Tobago.
The contest, which was inaugurated in 2007, was open to sixth form students in 178 schools in 17 Caribbean countries.
Students were asked to write an essay on the subject: "The Cuban Revolution, 1959-2009: Discuss its successes and failures. What relevance do these have for today's student?"
The organisers say the 2010 competition attracted 40 per cent more participation than the previous year, with students from Barbados and Guyana entering for the first time.
In a media release they said, "The reviewers were pleased with the depth of understanding displayed by the awardees whose submissions were of an exceptionally high quality - well researched, well written and persuasively argued.
"They were particularly interested in determining whether the students could provide a balanced assessment of a highly controversial event in the Caribbean's history."
The essay competition is in memory of Williams who was dedicated to educating the country's youth.
In his address to the nation on the eve of Independence on August 30, 1962 he said: "You the children, yours is the great responsibility to educate your parents…you carry the future of [the Nation] in your school bags."
The Winning essay will be published by CARICOM, in the newsletters of the three campuses of the University of the West Indies and by the Miami Herald.
No comments:
Post a Comment