First Citizens Investment Services has once again renewed its support for the commemoration of Nobel Laureate Week, which honours Saint Lucia’s two Nobel Laureates, Sir Arthur Lewis for Economics and the Honourable Derek Walcott for Literature. As the activities for the annual event were rolled out on Tuesday 12th January at the Governor General’s residence, the company’s Regional Manager, Mrs Carole Eleuthere-Jn Marie, praised this year’s theme: “Celebrating Excellence – Transforming Lives” while also reiterating First Citizens’ commitment to encouraging the development of the Arts.
“Nobel Laureate Week reminds us that one of our most important resources is our people. So much of why we are renowned around the world has to do with the achievements of these two great men,” Mrs Jn Marie noted, adding that seeking excellence in all aspects of business was part of the mantra of the First Citizens Group.
“First Citizens is proud of our record in the region and especially in Saint Lucia for supporting culture, education and the Arts,” she said. “In our efforts to keep Nobel Laureate Week and our culture at the forefront of our development we must embrace and change, to understand that the way we reach young minds has evolved. Hence a natural fit for us at First Citizens was for our support to go directly to the production of the Schools Theatre Arts Festival which gives students a platform to showcase their creative side and show off their love for the theatre.”
The Regional Manager applauded the efforts of the Nobel Laureate Committee to bring more visibility to the activities through the use of social media and also agreed with the call from the Governor General for Nobel Laureate Week to be transformed into a festival. The Week will run from January 17th to 30th with some of the activities stretching into February.
“A week is definitely not enough and I echo the sentiments of Dame Pearlette in this, the 22nd year of this tribute. First Citizens congratulates the Nobel Laureate Committee on this launch and looks forward to a Week filled with activities that are befitting a celebration of two of the world’s greatest minds.”
For her part Governor General Dame Pearlette, Chairperson of the Committee, encouraged all Saint Lucians to embrace the activities associated with the Week; most of them are free and open to the public. She thanked First Citizens for its continuous sponsorship of the Nobel Laureate ‘Festival’ and other private sector partners for initiatives to spread the word about the significance of Nobel Laureate Week.
Dame Pearlette noted that the theme for this year’s Nobel Laureate Week was inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to Transform Our World. The Walcott School Festival took place on Wednesday this week at the National Cultural Centre and featured some excellent works by students from around the island. The overall winners were Janika Jules from the Ciceron Secondary School in third, Sherlan Lawrence from the Choiseul Secondary in second and Hayzan Louis from the Saint Joseph’s Convent in first place.
For a full list of activities for Nobel Laureate Week please visit: facebook.com/NobelLaureateWeekSaintLucia.
