On Thursday, July 1st, 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade held an Awards and Prize-Giving Ceremony for the Annual Essay Writing Competition at the Methodist Church, Kingstown.
The competition since its inception in 2015, has seen a significant increase in the number of participants despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosive eruptions of the La Soufrìere volcano. This year, a total of 47 students participated in the competition from the primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions. The participating primary schools were: Barrouallie Anglican School, Belair Government School, C.W. Prescod Primary School, Georgetown Government School, Kingstown Preparatory School, New Grounds Primary School, South Rivers Methodist School, Sugar Mill Academy and the Windsor Primary School. The participating secondary schools were: Bishop’s College Kingstown, Emmanuel High School Mesopotamia, Saint Joseph’s Convent Kingstown, Saint Martin’s Secondary School and the Saint Vincent Girls’ High School. The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Community College was the only tertiary educational institution.
The Competition was divided into two categories: The Envoys category for students aged 9 – 13 years and the Ambassadors category for students aged 14-18 years.
The top five (5) winners from the Envoys category are:
| POSITION | NAME OF WINNER | SCHOOL |
| 1st Place | Isabella Sam | St. Vincent Girls’ High School |
| 2nd Place |
Seante Marshall |
St. Vincent Girls’ High School New Grounds Primary School |
| 4th Place | Belle Adams | Sugar Mill Academy |
| 5th Place | Kuba Francis |
Georgetown Government School |
The top five (5) winners from the Ambassadors category are:
| POSITION | NAME OF WINNER | SCHOOL |
| 1st Place | Callia Jackson | St. Vincent Girls’ High School |
| 2nd Place | Keonna Simon | SVG Community College |
| 3rd Place | Zaida Small Fiaya Linley |
St. Vincent Girls’ High School |
| 5th Place | Azaria Commissiong Jair Patrick |
St. Vincent Girls’ High School St. Vincent Grammar School |
The annual competition has been supported by Digicel SVG, the lone sponsor of the event since inception. For this year’s competition, Digicel provided trophies, cash prizes, Digicel E-learning plans + Mifi portable Wi-Fi devices with 3 months renewal for the top 5 participants in each category.
Additionally, all participants received a certificate of participation that was signed by the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr. The Hon. Ralph E. Gonsalves.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade’s Annual Essay Writing competition provides a platform for youth to hone their research and writing abilities and allows participants to garner in-depth knowledge on local, regional, and international affairs and events via research and applicability to their lives, as well as to the Vincentian society.
The Ministry would like to take this opportunity thank all students for participating in this year’s competition. The Ministry also extends much appreciation to Digicel for another year of sponsorship.
The next competition will take place in March, 2022.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
