Stop The Violence
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
August 25, 2011 (SKNIS)
Young people in St. Kitts and Nevis have a central role in shaping the message of a schools’ anti-violence campaign, and a call has been made for increased participation.
Dr. Tricia Esdaille, coordinator of the Ministry of Education’s Project PURPLE Campaign, told SKNIS that the initiative, which aims to Promote Understanding, Respect and Peace in the Learning Environment, needs a slogan that captures the theme and spirit of the undertaking.
“Project PURPLE was designed with young people in mind, as a means of giving them a greater voice in their schools, and the slogan contest is just one means by which we hope to basically hear from young people,” Dr. Esdaille stressed. “The contest (provides) a way of shaping the project because the slogan will be used on all our promotional items so it will go out on our posters, it will go up on our websites and on our facebook page.”
The competition is open to persons between the ages of 12 to 17 years. The slogan should be no more than 10 words and be catchy and youth friendly. Submissions are to be emailed to [email protected] or dropped in the purple box at the Ministry of Education on Church Street. They must be received on or before Monday, September 05, when the new 2011 school year begins. The successful entrant will receive a cash prize of $500.00.
Dr. Esdaille encouraged parents and the wider community to embrace Project PURPLE.
“Project PURPLE is intended to create a fun, peaceful environment where students not only learn but they have a greater say in school-based activities, where they’re encouraged to cooperate, to communicate, to negotiate,” she stated. “These are skills that you need not only in school but in the real world and certainly they can come in handy at home.”
“Ultimately, we want to see parents and children work together and as part of the project we will try to engage parents more and we ask for their support in encouraging their children to participate in all of the activities,” the Psychologist and Senior Education Officer concluded.
Activities for Project PURPLE include a Youth Rally and Fun Day, panel discussion, awards banquet and movie night. Much of the activities take place in September.
Interested individuals can gain additional information via telephone 763-5365.