Press release 84/2004
(10 June 2004)

Hon Henry Jeffrey, Minister of Education
Deputy Secretary-General and Staff of the CARICOM Secretariat
Headmasters/Headteachers
Other Teachers
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Students
Participants

Let me begin by saying what a pleasure it is to be here as Secretary-General. My days are not always this pleasant, I can assure you.

Warm welcome to the future of the Caribbean, because that is what you children are, the future of the Caribbean. It is good - very good to have so many of you with us here in Georgetown, Guyana - the Headquarters of the Caribbean Community.

Let me begin by placing in context how you came to be here. The year 2003 marked the Thirtieth Anniversary of the establishment of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), for it was on the 4th July1973 that the Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed in Trinidad and Tobago, in Chaguaramas, of course, creating the Caribbean Community and Common Market. The Treaty came into effect on August 1, 1973.

To celebrate the Thirtieth Anniversary of this historic milestone, the Conference of Heads of Government, at its Fourteenth Inter-Sessional Meeting held in Barbados on 11 November 2002, approved a Programme of activities slated to take place in all CARICOM Member States and Associate Member States in 2003/4 .

The motto for the year's celebrations is "INTEGRATION - OUR KEY TO PROSPERITY", with a special focus on youth. Sometimes I feel like saying Integration - Our only key to Prosperity. The Programme is intended to make the people of the Region, whatever their age, race, religion, socio-economic status and ability, aware of the meaning of CARICOM, what it means for their future, what it has achieved so far, the many challenges it faces and the prospects for the future.

The Programme was launched on February 12, 2003, by Dr. The Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines with the first in a series of Distinguished Lectures at the Hilton Hotel in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. His was an incisive analysis of our Caribbean civilization and of its prospects for further ennoblement. This was followed the next day on 13 February by a Grand Cultural Extravaganza at the Learning Resource Centre, University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago, featuring artistic servings from various Caribbean countries.

The Programme of activities in Trinidad and Tobago continued with a very interesting CARICOM Torch of Unity Run. The Hon. Patrick Manning, Prime Minister of that country, lit the Torch and handed it over to Ian Morris, former Olympian athlete of Trinidad and Tobago. As many of you would know the Torch of Unity Run took place particularly among the youth in their Member States and Associate Members, culminating in Jamaica in July 2003 to be received by the new Chair, the Most Hon. P.J. Patterson.

Two of the activities planned for the anniversary celebrations specifically involve the participation of schools. They are the Regional Art Competitions where we had one for primary level students (8-11 years of age) on the Theme "We Live in the Caribbean," and the other for secondary level students (12 - 16 years of age) on the Theme "What can CARICOM Mean to Me". Seven Member States participated in these activities that were held in February this year. Saint Lucia was the overall winner at the primary level and Guyana, the overall winner at the secondary level.

The other activity is what we are here today for, this CARICOM Regional Quiz Competition specifically targeted at middle secondary school students.

The Quiz Competition was organized to increase knowledge of the Caribbean, its history, its people, its culture, and the Caribbean Community Integration Movement.

As Mr. Caesar said a while ago, if after this Quiz, you do not do well on this subject, then something is wrong I was about to say to him not that something is wrong, but that the exam is wrong.

Though the official celebration of the Thirtieth Anniversary will end in July, the Secretariat will continue to organize regional activities of this nature, in order to create opportunities for you to showcase your various talents and to show what you know about "your", not "the" but your Caribbean Community.

We at the CARICOM Secretariat are aware of the need to develop suitable regional social, educational and economic programmes to better prepare you for future leadership and management roles, future employment, social participation, business leadership (entrepreneurship) and lifelong adaptation to the changing social and economic circumstances that we will encounter. In a nutshell to help create citizens capable of excelling in a global society. The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), for example, is a major regional effort designated toward your future. It is designed to broaden your vision and opportunities as a Caribbean Youth. And when implemented, it will provide economic, educational and cultural benefits to you and your families.

We recognise also the potential contributions that you can make, not only to your personal development, but also to the development of your communities and indeed to the nation and the Region. Therefore, I really wish to urge you to participate in as many activities as you can, whether they are school-based or community-based, so that you can help develop your life-skills, increase your competencies and confidence, heighten your awareness to the threats posed by the many social problems that will confront you and indeed equip you to overcome them.

The role of education as you know, teachers, is critical in helping to maximize that potential; and the educational programmes that you spearhead, we hope, will equip our young students to address the critical transition period from adolescence and youth to adulthood and become progressive global thinking citizens.

To you, the students who participated in the CARICOM Regional Quiz Competition in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and now Guyana, I wish to express my thanks and deep appreciation for the manner in which you conducted yourselves during the Competition. I applaud you for the hard work that I know went into your preparation; and no matter what the results, you are all winners. You have all been worthy ambassadors of your countries. They are no doubt proud of you. We at the CARICOM Secretariat are certainly proud of you all as well.

To the finalists today, I wish you the best of luck. Above all, do enjoy the contest in the true spirit of friendship and sportsmanship - these are foundation pillars of the Caribbean Community which we are building. These will be foundation pillars making you worthy men and women of that Community.

I thank you.