The following is the press statement by Minister of Education, Culture, Sports & Youth Affairs, Rhoda Arrindell during Wednesdays Council of Ministers Press Briefing.
Press Statement
by Hon. Minister of Education, Culture, Sports & Youth Affairs, Rhoda Arrindell.
Council of Ministers Press Briefing.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011.
Madame Prime Minister,
Members of the Media,
Residents of our beloved St. Martin,
Good Morning.
The countdown has really begun for the "Get off the Block, Get on the Bus, Get Busy" or GB3 youth project. The official launch of the project is now slated for Saturday, April 2, 2011, beginning from 9:00AM when two buses will pick up pre-registered participants from the various districts during a drive that will also serve as an island tour to give the youngsters a good and perhaps different view of their island, St. Martin. This would hopefully serve as a motivation for them to want to make it even better, because it belongs to them.
On the bus, they will be introduced to mentors specially chosen from various walks of life, who are expected to ultimately adopt them. The bus ride will end up at Port de Plaisance where they will have lunch and be addressed by motivational speakers from the island and from Tallahassee, Florida, where a similar program has been enjoying a resounding success.
Also at Port de Plaisance, stakeholders who have pledged support for the project will be able to establish booths from where they can communicate directly with the youngsters to offer them their services.
The day will conclude with an exhibition basketball game between the world famous AND 1 who will be returning to the island solely for this purpose, and a St. Martin selection that will include some of the participants. Naturally, AND 1 will also address the youth.
Shortly, we will be going into the various districts on a pre-registration drive. We are looking for young people – boys and girls – between the 13 and 25 age group who are jobless, need training or need to go back to finish their schooling. We want to get them off the block, get them on the bus and get them busy immediately after the April 2nd launch.
As I have said before, this is a pilot project which will last for three months until June. Some of our partners have been expressing eagerness to get on with the program. I appreciate and share their enthusiasm. From the very beginning, the GB3 project was conceived as a public-private-partnership. That partnership is now about to become a reality.
To promote the project, we recently launched a jingle, which you have already heard and will be hearing more in the days ahead, and today, it is my distinct pleasure to unveil the GB3 logo and poster, designed by another fine young artist, Loic Bryan, who has been able to conceptualize in images what we have been trying to explain in words.
Ladies and gentlemen, the GB3 logo… and poster!
The model in the poster is another young St. Martiner who is unable to be present here with us this morning because he is busy at work. I want to thank him for his decision to be the face of GB3. Thank you, also, Loic Bryan for your creativity and commitment to the project.
From now on, it is full steam ahead. Our partners will be hearing directly from us with regards to the specific areas we would like them to collaborate with the GB3 project. I know everyone is excited about it because it has to do with the future of our island. In that future, everyone counts: those on the block, those off the block; those on the bus, and those on foot or in their own vehicles; those who are busy and those who, for whatever reason, are not.
GB3 is not a "government thing"; it is a St. Martin thing. As a people, we are on the move and we do not have the luxury to allow any one of us to be sidelined as unproductive. Let me paraphrase that NAACP slogan: our youth is a most terrible thing to waste. We are all in this together, for the sake of St. Martin. We cannot afford to fail them.
Ladies and gentlemen, on another front that still relates to the youth, our Prime Minister, Mrs. Sarah Wescot-Williams, has mandated me to respond to a request made through her by the Prime Minister of Curacao, Mr. Schotte, for St. Martin to support the Curacao Sports and Olympic Federation (CSOF) in its bid to be recognized as the National Olympic Committee of Curacao. This will allow Curacao to participate in international and Olympic sporting events under its own flag and anthem.
That letter will be going out today, on behalf of the St. Martin government and the sporting community, in particular, which has been consulted before the decision to support the Curacao effort was taken. Naturally, we also expect that when the time comes for St. Martin to embark on a similar endeavor, our support will be reciprocated.
And speaking of sports, last week, the Great Bay Sports Auditorium was re-opened for general use, following the flooding of the facility which forced its temporary closure. It is believed that the flooding was a deliberate act of vandalism, which apart from interrupting ongoing basketball competitions, also has serious financial consequences for the Upkeep Foundation.
The process has begun for the floor of the Auditorium to be repaired. This will take some time as the materials have to be imported. When these arrive, the Sports Auditorium will have to be closed temporarily to allow for the repairs. You will be properly informed of this when the time comes.
Let me seize this opportunity to call on our youth again, as I always do, to be the custodians of the facilities that are meant for their own use. This afternoon, I will be officially opening two gyms and an outdoor sports field at the Milton Peters College. I want to urge our young people not only to take sports seriously, but also to take good care of these facilities. The responsibility of maintaining these sports facilities in good shape is first and foremost that of the users. They should no longer tolerate any acts of vandalism, sabotage, or blatant misuse of these facilities that belong to ALL of them. I am therefore charging all our young people to be the ones who will make sure that the facilities built for them are kept clean, and in good shape, for the benefit of everyone.
I want to conclude by stating that, as always, I am available to answer whatever questions you might have for me.
I thank you.