Nevis Island

UNESCO Art In Motion Project A Success

Mr. Antonio Maynard

Mr. Antonio Maynard

Charlestown, Nevis
June 17, 2008

An eight week workshop dubbed “Art in Motion” funded by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) came to an end on June 07, 2008.

The closing ceremony which was held on June 16, 2008 at the Nevis Red Cross Building in Charlestown, featured speeches, presentations and art displays.

While UNESCO provided funding for the workshop, the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) offered its support which included the provision of facilitators, facility and stationery.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Library Services Mr. Joseph Wiltshire represented the NIA at the ceremony and recorded his appreciation on its behalf.

“I must express the Nevis Island Administration’s gratitude to UNESCO for funding this important and timely project which sought to assist our people to develop their creative imagination and stimulate self reliance and self realisation.  This sponsorship, I assure you, has enabled the Administration to continue its thrust of providing a holistic education for all of its people,” Mr. Wiltshire said.

He advised that the “Art in Motion” students comprised of teachers and leaders of youth service organisations.

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Nevis HIV/AIDS Voluntary Counseling and Testing Day

Minister Daniels and Volunteers

Minister Daniels and Volunteers

Charlestown, Nevis
June 16, 2008

Minister of Health in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) Hon. Hensley Daniel, stamped his approval on Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) and cited that the activity hosted by the Nevis HIV/AIDS Unit in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Private Sector, placed the onus on individuals to know their health status.

In a televised address aired on NTV Channel 8 on June 15, 2008, the Minister said that the concept of volunteer testing spoke to individual’s inner commitment to a cause.

“This VCT approach is good since it provides an opportunity for persons to monitor on a regular basis their HIV/AIDS status: Prevention must begin before HIV prevalence grows to measurable levels.

“VCT helps us to pause and check our risky behaviours. When a test comes out negative, it is an opportunity to maintain sexual behaviour that will ensure that the tests continue to be negative. The VCT will certainly help us to put an end to risky behaviours. When your test comes out negative it is saying here is a chance to reduce sexual partners, here is a chance to continue on the abstinence road, here is a chance to live and let live, here is a chance to protect me, protect you, protect us. Here is the chance to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS in the wider society,” he said.

The Minister regarded VCT as an imaginative approach to the reduction of HIV/AIDS infections and told the people of Nevis that they could all do something about the disease if they used the approach of the legal profession ““ innocent until proven guilty (Positive until proven negative).

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Nevis Fathers Told They Need To Change Behavior

Nevis Minister - Hon. Hensley Daniel

Nevis Minister – Hon. Hensley Daniel

Charlestown, Nevis
June 16, 2008

There is a need to change the course of history and to have the society make a difference. That was the view of Minister with responsibility for Social Transformation on Nevis Hon. Hensley Daniel, which he expressed at a ceremony of the Social Development Department on Nevis, to honour a “special breed” of 13 fathers in celebration of Fathers day 2008. The event was held on June 12, 2008 at Ministry of Trade’s conference room in Charlestown.

The Minister referred to the Moyne Commission’s report of 1945 which he explained pointed out that the greatest challenge to family stability was the largest number of men who had children from women in several communities which represented the greatest challenge for social and economic stability in the years ahead.

Sixty two years later, Mr. Daniel said, the report held true today as it was in 1945 when it was commissioned.

“So we need to change the course of history and we need to have our society making a difference. It cannot be that since the Moyne Commission say so in 1945, sixty two years later, let another Commission say the same thing. We have to make a change.

“This community needs fathers who use their influence at the right times for the right reasons, who take a little greater share of the blame and a little smaller share of the credit, who lead themselves successfully before attempting to lead others, who continue to search for the best answer  not the familiar one, who add value to their family, who work for the benefit of their children and not for personal gain, who handle themselves with their heads and their children with their hearts, who know the way go the way and show the way, who inspire and motivate rather than intimidate and manipulate, who live with their children to know their problems and live with God in order to solve them, who realise that their dispositions are more important than their position, who mold opinions rather than following opinion polls, who understand that the home is a reflection of their character,” he said.

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Nevis Benefits From Tourism Training In Thailand

Prince of Songalka University - Phuket Thailand

Prince of Songalka University – Phuket Thailand

Charlestown, Nevis
June 12, 2008

Tourism Development Officer in the Ministry of Tourism on Nevis Ms. Nicole Liburd described her participation in the fifth International Tourism Management course in Thailand from May 14th to June 16th 2008, as having been beneficial to Nevis.

She made the comment during an interview with the Department of Information on June 11, 2008 on the heels of her return to Nevis at the end of an international tourism course which was held at the Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus. It was offered locally through the Organization of American States (OAS) by the Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency (TAIC), Foreign Affairs Department of the Government of Thailand. There were 25 participants from 18 countries which included Nevis and Cuba, the only participants from the Northern Hemisphere.

“We were also to do health and medical tourism and it amazed me that we [in Nevis] have a lot more history with regards to health tourism but we have not developed it fully so that might be something we can look at. [With regard to] our tourism policies and our product planning, we must have more cohesive methods for how we check our statistics, visitor arrivals [and] the revenue from tourism and so on.

“It is important for us to now put measures in place to capture this information because it makes the planning of tourism easier, it makes the allocation of funds for tourism easier and these are things a lot of agencies require in order to give us assistance as well. So yes there were a lot of things that I think I can put in place here [in Nevis] and I am encouraged to share with my co workers,” she said.

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UNESCO Reinstates St. Kitts – Nevis National Commission

Unesco-Logo

UNESCO Logo

Basseterre, Saint Kitts – Nevis
June 11, 2008 (SKNIS)

The National Commission for UNESCO welcomed several new members Tuesday, as it sets a course to raise its profile and that of UNESCO locally.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Hon. Sam Condor, who is also the Chairman of the Commission, addressed the body calling for individuals to show commitment as they seek to maximize the benefits that can be derived from properly assessing national priorities in the areas which fall under UNESCO’s remit.

UNESCO’s five areas of cooperation and assistance include Education, Natural Sciences, Social and Human Sciences, Culture as well as Communication and Information.

Each member of the National Commission has the responsibility to advise government on their area of expertise. Minister Condor said while there would be opportunities for inter-sectoral collaboration among members with related projects, there was a definite need to delve deeply into their field of expertise to remain abreast of relevant issues.

The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted the rapid evolution of global issues stating that they necessitate a high degree of alertness with sustained concentration on each programme area to ensure that the Federation can develop strategic and proactive projects that fall in line with UNESCO’s procedures and result in benefits to its citizens.

Commenting on the Federation’s recent signing of the “Doping in Sports Convention,” Secretary General of the National Commission For UNESCO Mr. Antonio Maynard, who chaired the meeting, called on members to begin to consider additional United Nations Conventions that would be meaningful to the Federation.

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