Primary students get digital media tips to participate in “A.C.T. Now Saint Lucia” Climate Change Campaign

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]orty-five students from primary schools around Saint Lucia acquired tips on how to optimize the use of their smartphones to develop quality media content on climate change. The training session took place on Friday May 4^th at the Financial Centre Building. The activity was in support of the A.C.T Now Saint Lucia challenge to Primary Schools. The training was delivered by mobile personnel from FLOW – one of the sponsors of the Primary School component. Assisting FLOW, were Digital Media students of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College.

Schools fielding teams in the competition are Plain View Combined, Ave Mara Primary, Ciceron Combined, Dame Pearlette Louisy Primary, Rivierre Dorée Anglican Combined, Laborie Girls Primary, Patience Combined, Banse La Grace Combined, Augier Combined, and Derisseaux Combined. Of these nine, seven were able to participate in the digital media training. One of two age-specific challenges under the campaign, it targets Primary School teams of maximum 5, who are charged to research the relationship between waste disposal practices and climate change impacts in their community; then produce a maximum 3 minute video outlining a solution to the problem.

Ahead of the training session, the students received a brief overview on the global challenge of climate change and how the phenomenon specifically impacts Small Island Developing States like Saint Lucia. The presenter, Mr. Vincent Doxerie, Communication Specialist in the Department of Sustainable Development, encouraged the students to research the role played by their counterparts all over the world, in educating their families and peers on good behaviours which can help lessen climate change impacts.

Omar Combie of SALCC Digital Media Club with Ciceron Combined and Rivierre Dore teams“Mobile technology seems to be tailor-made for your generation, because of how quickly you master these modern gadgets. Mobile phones have caused the youth journalism movement to take off where young people are now engaging in advocacy, interacting and sharing with their peers in other countries, and, in exciting ways, are participating in important conversations about what’s happening in their world,” Mr. Doxerie concluded.

The A.C.T Now Saint Lucia campaign is funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Government of Saint Lucia, with funding support from the Government of Japan, through the Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (J-CCCP).

The Primary Schools challenge will conclude on May 11^th with the submission of videos. It was made possible with the support of the Ministry of Education.

— Right Angle Imaging INC