ECCB and RSS-ARU Announce Winners of 2021 Creative Youth Competition

The ECCB/RSS ARU Creative Youth Art Competition is geared towards stimulating the minds of the region’s youth on issues that impact the socio-economic landscape of the region

Thursday, July 15, 2021 — Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis — The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) and the Regional Security System-Asset Recovery Unit (RSS-ARU) announce the winners of the 2021 ECCB/RSS-ARU Creative Youth Competition.  

Students from five ECCB member countries impressed the seven judges with their art pieces, which were assessed in two age categories: 13-16 and 17-19. 

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Category 1

In the age 13 – 16 category, Janessa Durham of the St. Vincent Girls’ High School in St. Vincent and the Grenadines captured first place with her piece on the topic: Evolution of Payment Methods: How Will the Use of Money Transform in the Future.

Janessa Durham – 1st Place Winner (Age 13-16)

2nd and 3rd Place Winners (Age 13-16)

Raven Gabriel of the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School in Saint Lucia came in second with her work on the topic: Women the Forgotten Resource. Opportunities for Women in Society and the Workplace, while Leeya Alexander of the St. Andrew’s Anglican Secondary School in Grenada walked away with third place with her piece on the topic: The Rise of Domestic and Social Ills in the Face of COVID-19.

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Category 2

In the 17 – 19 age category, Melanie James of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in Saint Lucia got the judges’ nod for first place with her depiction of the topic: The Rise of Domestic and Social Ills in the Face of COVID- 19.

Melanie James – 1st Place Winner (Age 17-19)

2nd and 3rd Place Winners (Age 17-19)

Shemiah Humphreys of the Antigua State College in Antigua and Barbuda took second place with her piece on the topic: The Rise of Domestic and Social Ills in the Face of COVID-19. Ashley Wilson of the Charles E Mills Secondary School in Saint Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis came in third with her interpretation of the topic: Women the Forgotten Resource. Opportunities for Women in Society and the Workplace.

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The ECCB and the Regional Security System-Asset Recovery Unit (RSS-ARU) have been collaborating to sponsor this initiative since 2018.   

The first-place winners in each of the categories will be awarded a $3,000 cash prize and a grant of $2,000 will be awarded to their respective schools.  The students who placed second will each receive $2,500 and their schools will be presented with a grant of $1,500. The third-place winners will each receive $1,500 and their schools will be awarded a grant of $1,000.  

Ninety-six students submitted their pieces on the three topics: The Rise of Domestic and Social Ills in the Face of COVID-19; Women the Forgotten Resource: Equal Opportunities for Women in the Work Place and Society; and Evolution of Payment Methods: How Will the Use of Money Transform in the Future. 

The judges were: Collette Jones-Chin, Anguilla; Eddison Liburd, Antigua and Barbuda; Aaron Hamilton, Commonwealth of Dominica; Roland Benjamin, Grenada; Kirk Brade, Montserrat; Pierre Liburd, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis; and Julian Pollard, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

As the Head Judge of the 17-19 category, Collette Jones-Chin described the students’ submissions as remarkable.

“As a judge, I was more than enthused at our youth’s interpretation and rendition of the given topics. Kudos to them and their teachers,” said Jones-Chin. 

Head Judge of the 13-16 category, Eddison Liburd, said,

“The level of art produced by this age group of students was very impressive. The pieces reflected a lot of thought, research and talent.”

The ECCB/RSS ARU Creative Youth Competition is part of the ECCB’s Community Outreach Programme and is aimed at encouraging critical and innovative thinking and raising the awareness of secondary school and community college students in the ECCU on issues of economic and social development. 

All the winning pieces can be viewed here.

About the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank:

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) was established in October 1983. The ECCB is the Monetary Authority for: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.