 Coming to you from our GIS Studios, I am Anisia Antoine, and this is your Midday News Brief. For more than 12 years, the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association has been warming the hearts of St. Lucian children at Christmas time. With the help of the Ministry of Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, culture and creative industries, and the Royal St. Lucia Police Force, the association targets under privileged children bearing gifts during the festive season. On Monday, December 2nd, the children were in for a treat at the VG Multipurpose Sports Complex. For Assistant Commissioner of the Police, George Nicholas, it's an opportunity to partner with the business community for the benefit of the nation's children. Also forming part of the activity was the Rising Stars Police Youth Club, which seeks to raise positive citizens to ensure that St. Lucia remains safe. Some 200 gifts were donated to the children. The Yes I Can program is a youth and adult literacy program that has been implemented in over 30 countries and has impacted over 6 million people. The program uses numbers to teach reading and writing by engaging 65 lessons over a four-month period. The Minister-Responsible Honourable Dr. Gil Rigabet applauded the participants for completing the program. Collectively there were 30 participants, 9 from Ancillary Canaries, and 21 from MECO. The elementary representative for Ancillary Canaries, Honourable Dominic Fede, expressed gratitude to the Government of Cuba and to the participants for making the program a success. Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to St. Lucia spoke of the new opportunities that will be afforded to the participants. The graduation ceremony was held at the Finance Administrative Center on December 1st, 2019. The Government of St. Lucia and the Government of the Republic of China, Taiwan, have officially signed the cooperation agreement of the Information and the Communication Technology ICT and the Implementation Arrangement of the Three-Year Project ICT in Education. Ambassador of the Republic of China, Taiwan to St. Lucia, His Excellency Douglas Shen, noting the importance of ICT in today's world, indicated that it can complement, enrich and transform education for the better. However, it is critical for teachers to learn how to apply ICT into their education program properly in order to improve students' problem-solving capabilities and academic performance. Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, Honourable Dr. Gail Rigobot, described the occasion as a joyous one, one that reiterated the value of the friendship between the two countries. Minister Rigobot noted that this is a very tangible step towards the realization of the full integration of ICT into education. This has been your midday news brief. Thank you for watching.