 Welcome to the NTN Nightly. I'm Nisha Charles. This edition stops stories. A more than $10 million climate resilient school plant opens at Choselle. Government moves to ensure gender equality in its development plans for St. Lucia and acclaimed jazz musician gives a nod of approval to the reconfigured St. Lucia Jazz Festival. All that goes to the latest in youth development, sports and the NTN Nouvelle Arquéon. The Government of St. Lucia has delivered on two of its development goals for the island with the completion of one project. Government through the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development has been focused on rehabilitating schools for improved learning conditions as well as ensuring the resilience of the structures to climate change and disasters. On Monday 13th May, an official opening ceremony was held for the new blocks at Choselle Secondary School which meet those very goals. Here's Janelle Nouvelle. The ultra-modern infrastructure meets international standards by being child-friendly, aesthetically pleasing, climate resilient and structured to provide the optimum learning environment to engender the best possible results from teachers and students. It has been internationally acclaimed as a world-class project. Designs for reconstruction of the blocks were commissioned following alarming vibrations witnessed by users after a strong earthquake in November 2007. It was then recommended that the blocks be reconstructed as opposed to retrofitting as this would be to Choselle. At the official opening of the blocks, Prime Minister Alan Shastney shared his vision with the students. We want you to be able to live in your community, to be with your family and to have the ability to compete with anybody in the rest of the world right here from Choselle. So the same internet access that you have here at school is our intentions to make sure that every household in St. Lucia is going to have access to the internet. It is our intention very soon to announce that we're going to have an iPad program that your schoolbooks will be downloaded on that iPad so you're not going to have to buy schoolbooks anymore. In keeping with the DVRP's goal of building national climate resilience the following climate smart features are integrated in the buildings. A 25 kilowatt roof mounted photovoltaic system a rainwater harvesting system featuring a 20,000 gallon water tank water efficient toilets and hurricane proof windows and roofs. The buildings house approximately 650 students 294 males and 301 females and 51 teachers and include among other modern trappings a sick bay, learning resource room, technical joint laboratory electronic document preparation management laboratory music and theater art rooms, chemistry and physics laboratories and access for the physically challenged to accommodate students and the wider community. Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Michelle Charles challenged the students and teachers of the school to use their new resources to their advantage. The eyes of the nation are now focused on the Choselle secondary school. It means therefore that with better facilities and increased resources a commensurate improvement in performance is anticipated. After all, we all know that there is a strong correlation between the learning environment and the students' success hence the expectation isn't unfounded. I challenged the principals, teachers and students to examine the current state of play and develop strategies that will allow for a realignment and transformation of instruction and learning at the Choselle secondary school. The reconstructed blocks are also designed to cater for earthquake risk and can serve as emergency shelters during natural disasters. Constructed within budget the total project value including construction, supervision services and supply of furniture and equipment or locally sourced was 10,123,734 EC dollars. Parliamentary representative for Choselle Saltybus Bradley Felix expressed gratitude for the government's efforts. He indicated however the work is only just beginning. We have some of the most renovations and I'm saying that very loud and I'm looking in minister's direction because I have indicated to her to ensure that Choselle gets its fair share of that wallet this year. But it's not just schools, our health centers and I'm very happy to say that this year Choselle actually has free health centers being given complete renovation works and also we recognize the importance of ensuring that our public buildings have a proper maintenance schedule and it's not going to happen overnight. But what we need to recognize is this government's thrust into ensuring that public buildings get the required maintenance that is necessary. The DVRP provides access to special financing for households and businesses to implement resiliency measures for the climate adaptation financing facility CAF disbursed by the St Lucia Development Bank. Projects still to come on stream include the Mico Secondary School and Wellness Center, Volley Colvet Crossing, PI Bridge and Community Centers at Bexar, PI, Blusher and Marcus Gavi. For the government information service, I am General Norville. Meantime efforts at ensuring that health is part of the climate change agenda in the Caribbean region is being undertaken as the third global conference on health and climate change report was officially launched recently. More on this report from Phanelle Neptune. The presentation of the third global conference on health and climate change report is expected to provide the government with recommendations on how to maximize the health benefits of tackling climate change. The Pan-American Health Organization, PAHO Director Dr. Carisi Etienne says it is important that small island developing statistics action to protect lives from the impacts of climate change. Climate change is costing us lives. It's taking lives, not only in the Caribbean but far beyond the Caribbean as well. It is harm in health. It is threatening livelihoods and hindering development. And it is no wonder that Britain declared a climate emergency. And I hope that the heads of states of the Caribbean will also declare a climate emergency for the Caribbean. PAHO, or WHO representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Dr. Godfrey Schren believes the Prime Minister of St. Lucia will be a great voice to advance the action plan for health and climate change in the small island developing states. St. Lucia is one of the leaders in the climate change revolution that is happening within the Caribbean. But also Prime Minister of St. Lucia takes on an important role next month when he becomes the head lead of CARICOM. And we hope that he will be the political vehicle within the heads of government for this document. Grenada's Minister for Health, the Honourable Nicola Steele thanked the Pan American Health Organization for its support towards the action plan for health and climate change which he believes will assist the region with becoming more climate resilient and protecting the future. PAHO and other high level officials also got the opportunity to tour the Comfort Bay residence for the elderly facility which is being retrofitted under the Smart Healthcare Facilities Project. Reporting from the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness I am Fina Neptune. A team of experts on gender mainstreaming has ended an inception mission here as the government moves to ensure gender equality in its plans and strategies for St. Lucia's development. The mainstreaming gender equality in St. Lucia's National Sustainable Development Plan project was conceptualized in 2011 after a country assessment was conducted by the Caribbean Development Bank. The project aims to address some of the deficiencies that were highlighted in that assessment, among them gender imbalances, poor educational achievement for men, inadequate employment and training, and high incidences of single parents. The Caribbean Development Bank gave a grant to the government of St. Lucia of 115,000 U.S. dollars to start the project in 2014 but that was halted and resumed in 2017. Dr. Claudia Luy is the project coordinator. If we look at how many of the ministries and departments they probably implement programs, gender is not given the type of priority that it deserves. In many cases it's left to happenstance if we have a program, whoever constituency it addresses, whether male or female, but they are not specifically any policies to indicate whether any of the genders, whether males or females, are being disadvantaged. What the Gender Mainstreaming Project does, it allows the government to systematically address the gender inequality. And by that I mean, every ministry and department and agency of government implementing a program will have to have gender planning as a foremost part of that project or any project or program that is being implemented. Partnering with the Caribbean Development Bank and the government of St. Lucia is Niagara College who emerged successful from three proposals initiated from the shortlisted firms for this consultancy. So collecting data, having information about who our clients are is important for our planning processes and that's a key part in terms of gender planning and gender analysis. So we seek to support leaders and planners with knowledge and skills to practice gender planning in their work, aligned with national frameworks and data indicators that roll up to the global standard for gender equality and sustainable development. The Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, the Honourable Dr. Gil Rigabert, says the initiative is not just about women, but for men. We understand that development policies serve as the prescription for ensuring that there is a social and economic advancement. We recognize that if we do not take into account the concerns of both men and women in crafting development policies, we may very well end up with some lopsided policies or policies that remain silent on some of the concerns that we have had for a little while now. The team of experts were in St. Lucia for their inception mission from May 6 to 10, 2019 where they engaged in training exercises for officers of the Department of Gender Relations and Public Servants in various ministries, departments and agencies on gender analysis and gender inclusion in development planning. The reconfiguration of St. Lucia Jazz has been hailed as the best move for the island, as tourism officials continue to find ways in which to differentiate St. Lucia as a destination. The nod of approval comes from an acclaimed jazz musician, Anissa Antoine tells us more. New venues and the finest names in modern jazz were featured in the 2019 St. Lucia Jazz Festival produced in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center. Now in its 28th year, the St. Lucia Jazz Festival is the Caribbean's longest-running music celebration. Miniva Ross, Public Relations Officer at events company St. Lucia, stated that the company remains committed to the development of St. Lucia's brand. We feel that we're owning the brand, St. Lucia Jazz Festival. And it's really amazing that it's gone in that direction. I like to think perhaps if someone made you an absolutely beautiful meal and they took that plate and they slapped onto it a dessert, a main course and an appetizer, you would probably get at some point a little confused about what exactly you're having. What we've done in fact now is we've isolated those and you have the St. Lucia Summer Festival throughout the year with various courses. The festival featured Arturo Tappin, a world-renowned smooth jazz and reggae saxophonist from Barbados. Tappin gave raved reviews on the new venues and the lineup of this year's Jazz Festival. Before we used to bring a lot of R&B acts and pop acts and you'll get thousands and thousands of people. These smaller venues are lovely, they're intimate and I just hope it all works out well because I really enjoy the acts that you've invited here this year. Ten of the 25 performing jazz acts originated from St. Lucia. The St. Lucia School of Music for the first time headlined a jazz event. One of St. Lucia's most prolific artists, Ronald Boo Hingson, who expressed his support for the new direction of the festival has for many years been assisting young talents. I pay attention to young people and I nurture them and they benefit from my stature and my network and the songs I can write for them and give them free access to my recording studio but I benefit from the new ideas that they bring so it's a mutual thing. And I listen to any kind of music, I listen to all kinds of music. And then we segment with mids and invaders are not written too. The St. Lucia Jazz Festival also featured artists in education initiatives including master classes, professional development workshops as well as performance collaborations with students. From the Government Information Service I am Anisia Antoine reporting. And this is the NTN Nightly. Ryan O'Brien is up next. There are signs everywhere. Pay attention whether you're male or female. Visit your health center to get screened. It's a preliminary test to determine if you are exposed to the HIV virus and STI or tuberculosis. Some people who are HIV positive also have tuberculosis. But there is hope. Tuberculosis can be cured. And yes, you can live a full life with HIV. Talk to your doctor. Be responsible. Help stop the spread of TB, HIV. Encourage everyone to get tested. Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest happenings in youth development and sports. Thanks Nisha. Welcome everyone to your update from the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports on the NTN Nightly News. I'm Ryan O'Brien. A campaign has been launched here to show the importance of sports to persons with disabilities. The Together We Can campaign is geared towards young leaders prefects, student council members, peer members and advocacy groups to have erased the stigma pinned on persons with disabilities. Vinicia Herman, a teacher of the Donata School, says she was inspired to implement the campaign following a recent course she attended in Japan. My experience in sports made it even more interesting to bring awareness of the benefits of sports for persons with disabilities. Watching persons with disabilities winning a race, taking part in sporting activities surrounded by persons who influence in a positive way is inspiring. The joy of someone smiling and feeling accepted in society. That is how much sports can benefit persons with disabilities. Ms. Herman is of the opinion that more emphasis needs to be placed on persons with disabilities and sports. The continued development of female football at a grassroots level will hinge greatly on the sustainability of the current inter-district primary schools football event that's ongoing and being organized by the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, the Ministry of Education and the St. Lucia Football Association. The preliminaries of the competition were held last week with matches in a northern zone held at the Sa Plain Field and a southern zone at the Philip Mastner Ground in Viefal. All concerned parties were inspired by the successes of the initiative and look forward to the staging of the semifinals and final of the competition as those dates are confirmed. And before we leave you today some news of note. The Independence 40 Funday has been pushed back to May 26 at the Viefal Recreational Court. There will be competitions for persons over 40 years of age in the sports of basketball, volleyball and netball. Preparations are well underway for the staging of the 2019 Winner Island School Games. To this end, there will be the customary preparatory meeting in Dominica where the games will be held. The meeting is scheduled to take place next week and St. Lucia will be represented by director of sports Patrick Matre and school sports coordinator Isabel Alexander Markey. He is also reminding you that schools under 15 Cricket gets underway on Wednesday at various venues. Teams will be playing in four groups before moving into the semifinals and final stages. And that's your update on new development and sports for today. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Thanks Ryan. The Integrity Commission is reminding all officials who have not filed declarations for the year ended December 31, 2018 to do so immediately in accordance with section 12.1 of the Integrity in Public Life chapter 1.19 of the revised edition of the laws of St. Lucia. The act requires that each person in public life file with the Integrity Commission a declaration of income assets and liabilities for the year ending December 31 of each year. Financial year means any period of 12 months beginning on 1st January in any year. According to the act where a person fails to file a declaration, the commission shall publish the facts at the Z and send the report to the director of public prosecution for further action. The act prescribes fines of up to $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both for offenses such as failure to file a declaration. All filing must be done before 31st May, 2019. The Embassy of the Republic of Korea will host the first-ever Korean cultural event Seoul beats Korea in celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between St. Lucia and the Republic of Korea on Wednesday 15th May, 2019 at 7pm at the National Cultural Center. Seoul Beat Korea will feature performances by the Korean Performing Arts Group and acclaimed Acrobatic B-Boy Dance Team. The Embassy believes that Seoul Beat Korea will offer the people of St. Lucia an unforgettable evening to enjoy the unique beauty of Seoul Beat Korea. And stay with the NTN Nightly Up next, Promise Hutchinson is here with the NTN Nouvelle Arquio. As N.T.B. Estenne is believed to be a group of victims that have survived this test through a test of HIV, alcohol, high blood pressure, and liver disease. They are also much known for their diseases. They have given their support to the whole world of the public as well as the whole world of S.T.N. To visit Dr. 10 has been first visited Welcome back. We join Primers Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvelle-en-Queil. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for the opportunity to inform the government about the GIS and the NTN Nouvelle-en-Queil. Welcome to Primers Hutchinson. We have a big ceremony to officially open new blocks in the Choisé school, which was held yesterday. We are positive for Choisé Exaltibus, Honourable Bradley Felix, declaring that there will be the advantage of the Shem-Nef Salah that the school will have a stable opposition to address the situation. However, Honourable Felix, even if the money is still cheap, but despite the fact that he is more confident in the protection of bad assets, Honourable Felix has also noticed that the school is now more advanced in terms of computer technology, generally. He said that it would be nice if the school would be able to do it by the students and prepare them for the first time to come. Thank you very much to the officers who were present in the ceremony. I was Minister of Education, Honourable Dr. Gil Rigabet, Minister of Economic Development, Honourable Guy Joseph, and Prime Minister of the City, Honourable Allen Chastney. We have a lot of news that will help us to develop our Salah. Third, Honourable Goan Co-France Latère, on the health and climate change. We call on you to make sure that you accept a discussion about climate change in a credible way. Honourable Goan Co-France, if you ask the government and the recommendations in the best way to find more benefits for climate change. Honourable Goan Co-France Latère, Minister of Health, Health and The Pension. Honourable Goan Co-France Latère, on the health and climate change. Honourable Goan Co-France Latère, on the health and climate change. I'm very happy to be part of this organization. We are very happy to be part of this organization. It's a real assistance, just like in SOTI, where you can really imagine how SOTI will patronize what you're doing. So it's a great time for us to work together. It's also great for us to assist and develop our services. It's also great for us to work together, just like in SOTI. It's great for us to work together, just like in SOTI. It's great for us to work together, just like in SOTI. It's great for us to work together, just like in SOTI. It's great for us to work together, just like in SOTI. Skies are fair becoming cloudy at times with a few showers. The Atlantic high pressure system will maintain a moderate easterly wind flow across the eastern Caribbean region during the next few days. Low-level clouds moving along the wind flow will bring a few scattered showers over the Lesser Antilles during the next 24 hours. Tides for Castries Harbour high at 12.28pm, low at 6.30pm. Tides for View Fort Bay high at 1.35pm, low at 7.40pm. Seas moderate to locally rough with waves and north easterly swells of 5 to 7 feet or 1.5 to 2.1 meters. Small craft operators and sea beavers are advised to exercise caution due to above normal seas. The sun will rise Wednesday at 5.37am. And that brings us to the end of the NTN Nightly. Join us next time at 7pm with a repeat at 7am. You can also catch up with us anytime on the Saint Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I'm Nisha Tross.