The Honourable Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, opens the Closing Ceremony of the 7th Commonwealth Youth Forum
His Excellency Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General, addresses the Ceremony.
For some of the Poetry written on the day, please see:
ASABI RAWLINSCHRISTINEIL THOMPSONEMILY SEELOCHANSHAMEDA BENJAMIN
"It was sheer delight and an invigorating experience...this has to be done again!" Deborah Jean-Baptiste Samuel
The workshop and the ceremony...
The day was both fun and informative. Creative Writing Workshops on the subject of the environment took place in the morning with two well-respected Trinidadian writers - Deborah Jean-Baptiste Samuel (a theatre Director, attorney-at-law, orator and former journalist) and Debbie Jacobs (a newspaper columnist).
Working on their own, in pairs and as a group, the participants drew pictures, composed wonderful poems and wrote short tales about the environment, climate change, wildlife and the elements. Using their imaginative and descriptive talents, they told powerful stories about our natural world.
After working hard all morning, their reward was to board the 'Caribbean Princess' cruise ship moored in Port of Spain Harbor, right in the heart of the CHOGM meetings. There, the young writers were given lunch and took part in the closing ceremony of the 7th Commonwealth Youth Forum. The ship was huge – cinemas, restaurants, a casino and 16 decks! The ceremony was held in the theatre on board and was attended by hundreds of people.
This ceremony marked a crucial stage in the CHOGM and was introduced by the Honourable Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It was also attended by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, other foreign dignitaries and all 500 international participants in the 7th Commonwealth Youth Forum (plus our 20 young writers!)
The Caribbean Princess