Nobel Laureate Week 2013 was launched here on Thursday January 10 at Government House on the Morne. The event was well attended by a wide cross section of the media who have been called to action by committee member and coordinator Delia Dolor to come together to help make this year’s Nobel Laureate Week a truly national event. Dolor herself has already initiated a “how well do you know St Lucia Nobel laureates” quiz supported by DBS, GIS, NTN, RSL, The STAR, The Voice and the Wave.
Following brief introductory remarks, the Nobel Laureate Week coordinator introduced chairperson Dame Pearlette Louisy, Governor General of Saint Lucia under whose auspices the activities will be held.
According to the GG it is always hard find something fresh to say since she has been chairing the activity for some-time now. “This year we are celebrating under the theme “celebrating excellence 2 decades on,” so that gives you an idea that we have been trying to say perhaps the same thing for the past twenty years, so freshness and novelty does not come easy,” the Governor General said.
She then went into the history of the event which she said started off as just one day in 1993. “Over the years the event has grown and we are now looking at one week and in some cases a week and a half of activities,” the island’s head of state said. The GG informed her audience that originally the event centered around two main events the Derek Walcott lecture and the Sir Arthur Lewis lecture. “The two lectures have remained staple, but we are now looking at a number of new events capturing the imaginations of all sectors of the society and people are now embracing the activity,” she said.
Among the recent additions to Nobel Laureate week over the years has been the Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce business awards which will be held on Saturday January 26, the Ministry of Educations awards of excellence which will be held on Tuesday January 22 and the Celebration of Excellence by the Bishop Garcet RC School (formerly Marchand Combined).
The 2013 Nobel Laureate Week celebration will open on Sunday January 20th with “the creative and performing arts; a celebration.” The event which is open to the public is being organized by the CDF and will be held at the National Cultural Centre. The activity will feature drama, song, music among other activities and will be free of charge. Other activities during the week will include a school’s choir competition on Monday January 21 and the Derek Walcott lecture delivered by Indian poet Sudeed Sen on Tuesday January 22 at the St. Mary’s college auditorium. Both Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, St. Mary’s College and the UWI open campus here have also organized activities as part of the week. Two communities Dennery and Laborie will also host events, Dennery with a discussion and oral presentations at the Chatuea Heritage bypass on Saturday January 26 and Laborie with Jazz at the village on Friday January 25. Performers will be Wendell Richards band and Ricardo Francois’ Jazzmin.
This year’s Nobel Laureate week will also include the ceremonial wreath laying at the grave site of Sir Arthur Lewis who won the island’s first Nobel prize in 1979 for Economics. Derek Walcott won the second in 1992 for literature. Both were born on January 23.
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