The Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, Mr. Edwin Carrington, would love to have been here this morning to witness this important activity, but unfortunately, he had another equally important previous commitment. I could not undertake that commitment for him, so it is my pleasure and honour to attend this one.

He would have preferred to be here because the involvement of the people of the Region in this enterprise we call the CSME is a theme dear to his heart. Without the people of the Region there would be no need for and, indeed, no CSME, and therefore the most important thing we can do at the same time that we are laying down the structures for the CSME is to widen our public education efforts.

It is for this reason, that I welcome this CSME Public Education Initiative being undertaken by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation, supported by Caribbean Vizion and the USAID Guyana Trade and Investment Support Project. The lead role played by Caribbean Vizion in this initiative is particularly heart-warming.

There is hardly a more interesting, exciting and educational manner through which to ensure that young persons like yourselves are made aware of what the CSME is, what it holds for you and, what your role could be in the process, other than through the cultural dimension of drama, song, dance and educational activities such as debates. Although this module targets young people, I assure you that we the adults are also benefiting from the message.

For those of you who were present throughout the debating competition, supporting your school teams, and listening to the arguments as the teams defended and attacked the proposition, I am sure that today, you are all more knowledgeable about the CSME. I am confident that this debating competition has ignited in you a deep interest in learning more about what the CSME means for the people of the Region, its relevance and importance to you as young persons, and above all the role that you can play in the process.

The CARICOM Secretariat has been pleased to advise and assist in the preparation for this initiative. Know that we stand ready to continue assisting in any way we can in order to ensure that the message of the CSME is spread far and wide.

As you have become aware during the activities which have taken place so far, the CSME will be an integral part of your life experience from now on. It will have an impact upon you, whether you wish it to or not, so it is important that you prepare yourselves to confront the obvious challenges and potential opportunities which will emerge under these new arrangements in our Region. An important consideration for all of you, therefore, would be the need to prepare yourselves through education and training to be able to operate effectively and viably in the brave new world that is ahead of you.

A highly skilled competitive workforce is a prerequisite to ensuring competitiveness in the global economy in which we now live. And since the CSME cannot be divorced from the global environment, and indeed, is very closely linked to it, preparing yourselves to compete within the CSME should be seen as a first step to being competitive at the wider global level. This public education initiative is all part of that preparation.

To all the members of the various debating teams who participated over the last few weeks, I want to commend you for a job well done. Secretariat staff members have been involved as judges throughout the process, and I have had reports that, while it was quite exciting and enjoyable, it has nevertheless been a difficult task, on account of the exceptional talent exhibited by the articulate, persuasive and skilful debaters.

All of you, obviously, would not have made it to the finals, but the fact that you were engaged in the process, researching the CSME and disseminating information to your audiences during the debates would most certainly have enhanced your own and your audience’s knowledge and understanding of the CSME. That in itself is a significant achievement. My congratulations to those teams who have reached the finals; I look forward to enjoying your debating skills today.

May I take this opportunity to congratulate Caribbean Vizion for being as visionary as they have been in conceptualizing the CSME Edu-Culture School Tour, disseminating the message of the CSME and its benefits to Caribbean young and not so young persons. I have been a faithful viewer of your programmes on television. You are doing a marvellous job and I want to encourage you to continue your labours even though I am sure it has been a labour of love. Keep up the good work!

In closing I wish to express my delight at the large number of you here this morning. Apart from being here to support the team which you favour, it is also clearly an indication of your interest and, in some ways, your expectation of the CSME.

I wish you every success with your final competition and hope that the information which will be presented will leave us all more knowledgeable about and eager to ensure the success of the CSME.

Thank you.