Charlestown Secondary School Captures First Place in 2010 OECS Essay Competition

ECCB HQ

ZIZ News…Sept 11, 2010 – Khalin Nisbett, of the Charlestown Secondary School, in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, is the winner of the 10th Annual OECS Essay Competition hosted by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).

Khalin’s impressive discourse on the topic: Culture and the arts should be an integral part of our tourism product, earned her school the honour of being the winner for three consecutive years. Chaim Walters of the Gingerland Secondary School, in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis captured second place, while Karishma Dhera of the Montserrat Secondary School placed third. They both wrote on the topic: The Caribbean Court of Justice is a necessary institution for Caribbean Independence.

The other topics for this year’s competition were:
• The global economic crisis has created a new kind of nationalism. Do you see this as a threat to the OECS Economic Union?
• Caribbean integration is more a reality than a myth. How can the youths of the OECS prepare for this union?

The essays were assessed for content and soundness of points, logical development, clarity, knowledge of the subject, command of language and presentation. Fifteen thousand dollars (EC$15,000) in prizes and development grants will be awarded to the winning students and their respective schools. The Antigua Girls High School will be awarded a grant of EC$1,000 for submitting the most entries.

The OECS Essay Competition, which began in 2001, is part of the ECCB’s community outreach programme. It is open to students ages 14 – 19 throughout the region, and is designed to give the students the opportunity to explore social and economic issues that affect the citizens of the eight ECCB member states.