The Cayman Islands has a new Junior Minister for Tourism – John Gray High School student Thea Bush.
Minister for Tourism Charles Clifford with the new Junior Minister for Tourism Thea Bush. Photo: Cliodhna McGowan |
She was named Junior Minister of Tourism Saturday, having excelled in debating, and will represent the Cayman Islands at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s Tourism Youth Congress in St. Thomas, USVI next month.
Cayman Brac High School and John Gray High School battled it out on Saturday at the final of the Tourism Inter-School Debate at Prospect Primary School Hall, where John Gray High emerged victorious. Student Thea Bush was speaker with the most points.
The winning John Gray High School team consisted of students Thea Bush, Kamala Murugesu and Brendan Lyons (reserve). School Principal is Ms Deborah McLaughlin and coach is Mr. Rajpal Hemraj.
The Cayman Brac High School team consisted of students Elizabeth Scott, Nickolas DaCosta and Brendan Wahler (reserve). School Principal is Mrs. Shirley Wahler, with Coach Yvette Gayle.
In announcing the judges’ decision, Chairperson of the debate Gloria McField-Nixon said all the finalists were winners and the scores had been very close. She praised the coaches, teachers and parents for all their support and work, saying as a former debater herself she realised the amount of time that goes into preparation for such a competition as this.
The moot for the debate was ‘That stay-over tourism, the mainstay of Caribbean countries, is always negatively impacted by cruise tourism, which John Gray High School argued for and Cayman Brac High argued against.
Minister’s support
Speaking before the debate, Minister for Tourism Charles Clifford spoke briefly, saying it was not a day for political speeches.
‘To the students I say that it is your day to shine, to impress the judges with your point of view and to convince them that you should be the next Junior Minister of Tourism.’ Mr. Clifford joked that this was something that would be easier than actually getting elected. He said to argue a point effectively takes great skill and strategy, and this is something that can only be developed with practice.
‘As a student of law I developed a keen appreciation of the value of these skills as they relate to the law profession. As the Minister for Tourism I also know the immense value of these skills as a tool for life: whether our young people become doctors, teachers, lawyers, masons or certified journeymen – the ability to clearly communicate one’s point is essential to all aspects of life.’
He added that he hopes all participants would use this opportunity as a catalyst to ‘become addicted to the process of constant, and never ending, self improvement’.
Immeasurable value
The 2004 Youth Congress Ambassador Heidi Knowlton of Cayman Brac High School spoke of her experience in Aruba last year, which made her proud to be Caymanian. She said it was something that had immeasurable value attached to it.
In giving a vote of thanks at the end of the proceedings Mr. Robert Wieshan, Manager Human Capital Development, said he was very taken with the intellect, personality and ability of the young debaters.
In presenting the prizes Minister Clifford was assisted by St. Ignatius Catholic School student Clare-Louise McGrath, a finalist in the 14th annual Condé Nast Traveler My Caribbean Essay Contest, and will represent the Cayman Islands in the final of the essay contest at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s annual conference in the U.S.V.I. next month.
Awareness building
The Interschool Debate Competition is one of the Department of Tourism’s knowledge and awareness building programs for year 11 and 12 high school students. It develops their understanding of tourism and its importance to the economy of the Cayman Islands, as well as strengthens the students’ analytical, reasoning and communication skills.
‘I cannot emphasize enough how important the art and skill of debating will be to these students in their lives. From the Department of Tourism’s perspective, if they are arguing about tourism topics, it means they are really thinking about them too, which sets the foundation for a more informed youth population,’ said Patrice Donalds, DoT’s Co-ordinator Tourism Training and Development.
During the year, the new Junior Minister will participate in a series of tourism-related activities, the first being the CTO Youth Congress. This is structured to mirror a CTO Board of Director’s Meeting. There will be an agenda for discussion, with topics on tourism issues. Two of those topics will be presented to each Junior Minister of Tourism for research before the meeting: In addition, one mystery topic will be presented to challenge each participant’s ability to prepare and present quickly. Students must come prepared to discuss the topics on the agenda and to arrive at a number of policy decisions and recommendations.
Top prizes
At this level, the student judged the best presenter/debater will receive a cash prize of US$500. The first runner up will receive US$300 and the second runner up US$200. All three winning students will receive laptop computers. The first place student’s school will receive US$1,000. All prizes are provided by the programme sponsor, Travel & Leisure Magazine. The winner of the 2005 Youth Congress will also be invited to chair the Youth Congress 2006 as a further reward for his/her achievement. On return from the CTO Youth Congress, the Junior Minister will participate in the DoT’s sponsored events.
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