 Welcome to the NTN Nightly. I'm Misha Charles. This edition stopped stories. The nation's youth examined the proposed transformation of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College into a university. A new wave of environmental awareness is sweeping across the island. St. Lucia observes International Mother Language Day. All that was the latest in youth development sports. As plans for the transformation of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College into a university college continue. Students of the institution and a wider youth population have had their say on the transition way in the pros and cons of introducing the university. The issue of higher learning is critical for St. Lucia as the economy expands and the need for a more diverse workforce heightens. Here's Janelle Norver with details on the special youth parliament held in commemoration of the island's 40th Independence Anniversary. Held annually the national youth parliament offers the nation's young people a forum to express their opinions on issues pertinent to the development of St. Lucia. This time around the youth parliament debated the motion that sought the approval for the transformation of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College from a two-year college to a four-year university. Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, External Affairs and Job Creation, Jesserin Andrew, threw his support behind the motion. He noted the benefits for the youth if the motion were to come into fruition. Madam Speaker with our own university we will now be able to offer the minority scholarships because we're now able to we have our university now that is self-sufficient or we're moving we're developing it in that direction that can offer scholarships both academic and sports. Minister for Equity, Social Justice and Culture Trianne Philip also expressed her wavering support for the motion. Philip noted without the transformation of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College to a university the country will continue to be plagued by brain drain while those unable to afford to study overseas will remain under qualified for potential employment opportunities. We will find ourselves losing those privileged enough to seek education abroad and never returning and then having to find qualified foreigners to come in and rent our so-called independent country for us. Now tell Madam Speaker, how does this provide social justice to our people? Meanwhile leader of the opposition and parliamentary representative for Castry South Robert Renne questioned why the government would consider further hampering the youth in the attainment of tertiary level education. He explained that this would be the result if the college was transformed to a university as students would no longer have that bridge between secondary level education and university level education. The opposition leader also noted the cost of university education to the youth. You now have a university you don't have a college anymore you don't have a community college anymore. Madam Speaker, it is evident that under the current pay structure students are already experiencing difficulties in paying the college tuition fees Madam Speaker. When you decide to turn South into a university what you're actually doing inadvertently is that you are actually increasing the fees because you some of you know very well that to do an associate's degree at South Lewis and to do one at the University of the West Indies in terms of the cost is is exorbitantly different. The National Youth Parliament has been held since 1993 by the Department of Youth and Sports. For the Government Information Service, I am General Norville. The eyes have it I therefore urge in this house until the 8th of April 2019. A new wave of environmental awareness is sweeping across the island with the launch of conservation clubs at various schools. Anissa Antoine reports on the initiative spearheaded by the National Conservation Authority. The National Conservation Authority, NCA, in partnership with the St. Lucia National Trust arranged a viewing of Blue Planet, our ocean, to launch environmental clubs in schools around the island. The initiative is part of an awareness drive titled Protecting Paradise, a beach education and action campaign. The objective is to conserve the beaches in St. Lucia. This will be achieved through a series of educational activities and the installation of bins on beaches. We have chosen to launch the clubs with this beach environmental education campaign starting with the movie doing and continuing with a beach day and then a campaign to build bins on the beach and kind of educate and sensitize people to properly disposing their trash and not destroying the beach ecosystem. The five schools in attendance were Grozley Secondary, Marsha Combined, Denry Primary, Leonhurst Secondary and PI Secondary. Coretta Crooks-Charles, Communications and Advocacy Officer of the St. Lucia National Trust explained the rationale behind the trust's involvement. Last year we did a similar initiative with plastic oceans and it's never too much to repeat the message of the need to reduce pollution especially for oceans because it not only affects the marine environment, it will also affect us as human beings. So we are here with five new schools last time we had close to 500 students and this time we have a bit less but nonetheless we're still imparting the important message of the need to protect our marine environment and thereby doing protecting the livelihoods of those who rely on the oceans and our own human health. Marsha Stores which has been a strong advocate for decreasing pollution has donated a sum of 6,000 EC dollars towards the beach conservation campaign. Sancha Ragi is the marketing manager of Marsha Stores. Now this program is very aligned to Marsha Stores and our companies focus on plastic waste management and reduction and also in creating a pro recycling environment in St Lucia. We believe that student education is a very good place to start with behavior and changing that behavior in terms of how we manage our plastic and how we create and approach our waste. It is also important to create an environmental steward and the kids are perfect and critical where this is consumed. To conclude the first phase of the campaign the conservation club members and teachers will participate in a series of science experiments and activities related to beach ecosystems at the Vigi Beach on Thursday March 7th 2019. From the Government Information Service I am Anisia Antoine reporting. The Department of Health and Wellness with the assistance of the St Lucia Cancer Society is working towards establishing a cancer registry and improving data collection of cancer on the island. As part of the efforts to establish a cancer registry in St Lucia, a review of the cancer data collected over the past five years was conducted recently. The cancer registry is expected to serve as a surveillance tool in guiding the planning and implementation of cancer prevention and control programs. Acting national epidemiologist Dr Michelle Persuas says the cancer registry is fundamental as it will provide a better snapshot of cancer in St Lucia. We were extremely thrilled that we were able to gather that data which now can guide our programming, highlight areas that we need to emphasize on. We do know that cancer is a lot of it is preventable through early detection through screening and also modifying certain behavioural practices. So we look at the data to guide us and there are areas which came forward that of course needs improvement. We have highlighted that and the plan moving forward is to solidify this partnership with the St Lucia Cancer Society and also to include other stakeholders so that we are able to get a more accurate picture of the cancer situation in St Lucia. President of the St Lucia Cancer Society Dr Tumaru Rami says such an initiative is important as it will guide decision making to improve prevention control and treatment of cancer. Cancer is here in St Lucia. We need to be able to use the information. We have a lot of campaigns where we can help to prevent cancer. We're going to help with the provision of ways to make an early diagnosis. Only information with this collaboration between St Lucia Cancer Society, the Ministry of Health, Epidemiology is really going to be geared towards helping the solution public. So we're asking for your attention. We're asking that you take heed of the information that you're actually going to give and to be part of the whole process. Dr Rami expressed hope that the cancer registry will assist in reducing the burden of cancer in St Lucia. Reporting from the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness I am Fenel Neptune. Young people across St Lucia can now have access to quality eye care examinations, durable frames and up-to-date lens technology with the help of the Court's Optical Brand, free of charge. The Court's Optical Corporate Responsibility Initiative, brighter view seeks to develop comprehensive eye care to young individuals facing vulnerable circumstances throughout the Caribbean. The project which began in Trinidad in 2017 has expanded to St Lucia and will see 250 frames being distributed to children whose parents may not have access to comprehensive eye care. The Department of Education is proud to be a part of the initiative. There is a direct correlation between learning and eyesight. We have seen students who do not perform academically or do not perform at school and it is not because that they do not possess the ability to do so but it is because of challenges in viewing maybe the board or even looking at the words in the text. With courts coming to the rescue and I say the rescue of some students within our education system who have challenges and these challenges may include socioeconomic challenges. We are very pleased to be partnering with Court's Optical. With the help of the Department of Education the program was able to identify students within both primary and secondary institutions faced with side challenges requiring optical attention. A healthy vision status is therefore critical to academic success particularly with the increasing prominence and prevalence of digital technologies in education. In the world of today's students much of learning is migrating from the page to the screen. Our world is becoming increasingly visual and access to information to social contacts and to economic opportunities often rest heavily upon one's capacity to access the world of images. According to the OECS optical chain manager the CSR initiative is expected to bring renewed hope to the selected beneficiaries. Brighter view primarily caters for students between the ages of 10 to 16 whom we generally refer to as single vision users. Single vision is the most common type of prescription lens. This lens type features a single optical focal point or one prescription power throughout the entire lens for correcting near sightedness far sightedness or astigmatism. The program is expected to reach an additional 200 to 500 students across the OECS countries where Unicoma operates and this is the NTN Nightly coming up the latest happenings in UK sports with Ryan O'Brien. There are four basic rules to developing and maintaining good oral health. Brushing after meals and before going to bed flossing at least once for the day eating the right foods and visiting the dentist regularly. Remember you won't keep those smiles for these three years. A message from the dental department of the Ministry of Health and this station. Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest happenings in youth development and sports. Hello once again I'm Ryan O'Brien with your update from the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports on the NTN Nightly news. The 2019 in the school's male and female volleyball championship starts on Monday March 4th. Schools have been divided into groups male category group A, cruciate secondary, current secondary, Bocard secondary, Fitbutai, St. Mary's College, Leonhurst Comprehensive, Group B, Miku secondary, Clendon Mason secondary, South Alois Community College, Stanley John Audland Memorial, Sufra Comprehensive Secondary School. In the female competition group A, St. Joseph's Convent, Bocard secondary, Sufra Comprehensive secondary, current secondary, Group B, South Alois Community College, Miku secondary, Fitbutai secondary, and Leonhurst Comprehensive. The playing venue will be the VG Mullipopa Sports Complex. Now let's take a look at the competition format in the first round and in each category teams in each group will engage in a round robin among themselves. At the end of round one the first and second place male and female teams from each group will advance automatically to the semifinals. The loser of each semifinal will play for the bronze medal or third place and then the winner of each semifinal will play for the gold medal or the first place honors. The Young Sports Leader's first training program for 2019 went to its penultimate day at the VG Mullipopa Sports Complex on Wednesday. A number of Young Sports Leaders have been put through a rigorous program over the past few days. Nairan Telium is Program Development Officer at the Ministry of Development and Sports and one of the facilitators at the training session. Well Sufra, what have happened is that we have been actually teaching our young persons to become local tutors. So we have been teaching them skills in facilitation so that when they go out there they are able to impact the knowledge on the young people. The next step for them is that we will expect them to go back in the community to actually use the facilitation skills that they have learned to put into practice and also they are going to actually facilitate one of our Young Sports Leader program. And finally we bring you an update on a strategic planning program for the Ministry of Development and Sports. It's now going through its second phase of engagement with additional stakeholder groups on Tuesday. The METIF National Association Leaders to review the feedback from the first round-up discussions between November and December 2018. That's our update for today. I'm Nairan Nairan saying goodbye. Thanks Ryan. International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and promote the use of more than one language either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. First announced by UNESCO in 1999 International Mother Language Day is an opportunity for the organization to encourage member states to look at the status of Indigenous languages and the important role they can play in fostering social cohesion. That's part of its observance St. Lucia launched a poetry competition which seeks to highlight the Creole language. The Creole poetry competition is really an opportunity for us to celebrate our linguistic diversity, to celebrate our cultural heritage, to celebrate our linguistic heritage. It's coinciding with the 40th anniversary of our independence so we're also using the opportunity to encourage solutions to reflect on the theme of the independence, to reflect on our journey as a people and as a nation, how far we've come and how collectively and individually as well we can chatter we forward. For a society that is peaceful and prosperous so we want solutions to consider expressing their own reflection on independence through poetry in Creole. The poetry competition is open to the public in two categories junior and senior. The persons are encouraged to submit their proposals, their entries to the National Commission for UNESCO they could access the information on our facebook page they could also call the office to get additional information regarding the competition. We have some very exciting prizes including cash prizes for the entries to the competition. International Mother Language Day was observed on February 21 and stayed with the NTN Nightly up next, Primers Hutchinson is here with the NTN Nouvelle Arquio. With just one click the internet connects people, businesses and nations. Being connected can open a world of information and opportunities. You can get services and products of your choice much faster from electronic financial transactions to connecting with family and friends from being up to date with the latest news and information to learning new skills and acquiring academic qualifications all from the convenience of your home or wherever you roam get connected today. This message is brought to you as a public service announcement by ECTEL the NTRC and this station. Welcome back, we join Primers Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvelle Arquio. Mr. Ota Nisha, I would like to thank the University of Sabilite for the information on government services as GIS as well as the National Television for the NTN Nouvelle Arquio especially Primers Hutchinson. The government officers, the diplomats and visitors are assembled for a meeting, a ceremony to officially open the offices for the various articles of the CACO including equity, the services that are established by the government here in the United States. It was a pleasure, a million dollars. Minutes for Agriculture, you have Ezekiel Joseph, Declaviki. It will excite you to deliver your facility and the grace of Allah for the residents of Assad, not ex-Sudmiku. Hello, Mr. Joseph. Facilities of Allah, first of all, because the free-touch assets that were brought in last season, it means that the money, the goods, the money and even for a lot of free-touch. And that's what the majority of the free-touch assets are going to be. Representative Leleurop Bogdan-Stefanesco declared that it was a pleasure to EWOP make quality contributions to the region and particularly for Greece, which I did, a production of figs. And when the figs were paid, I advanced to the French market. In my opinion, I called FIGNOU to the French market to make the most of the free-touch assets. I have already found 10 million EWOs to provide facilities for free-touch assets. I called FIGNOU to continue to support the English market. In short, the MANGAL Trading Company has provided the MANGAL with a large amount of figs, bananas and cucumbers for the English market. If I were to talk about MANGAL, the business was going through a lot of difficulties. But in short, I found a lot of success and then, as an expert in MANGAL, I found success in the business because it was a very good business. But also, my business in England is very satisfied with the products that I have been selling. In addition to that, my business in England is going through a lot of difficulties to buy even more than the MANGAL, MANGAL, and other English businesses that are going through a lot of difficulties to produce. That's why I'm doing export and leisure. So, I asked Daniel, what business program in England would you recommend to advance the agricultural diversification program here? Daniel declared that MANGAL is going through a lot of difficulties and that it's going through a lot of difficulties. He also mentioned export and leisure that are going through a lot of difficulties in the business and in the English market. Because it's going through a lot of difficulties in the economy, security, and a lot of work in the country. Export and leisure is an initiative for the government. And also, it's just that it's good to advance the agricultural sector to increase efforts to develop national products, and also place public payers in their rural areas. The government organization is able to expand the business set here in the country to increase local products to assist the business and to benefit from it and to enable the existence of this business as an effort to make contributions that can help us to pay for it. So, as we said, we will continue to fight to address Prime Minister Alain Chastney to advance the business in the Middle East. In continuation of his address, Prime Minister Chastney created a superb pay set to help people to live a free life with social, and economic pain. However, Prime Minister Chastney if it is necessary to provide security to the people who are in need of money, Prime Minister Deklaiki, if it is necessary to provide public payers good health, but also for the people who are in need of education and who are in need of their place of work, it is not necessary to ask for it. However, according to Prime Minister Chastney the merit is for the unity and the government to settle in order to establish the security and protection of Prime Minister Chastney in order to ensure not only to complete success if we work more work and pay more money than in the country and we have to do it together. Prime Minister Chastney called for us to work in the country as an observant anniversary for us to change this Christian Marguerite Yoka Deboyer Webd and continue to buy services for the country. He mentioned the merchants, the mothers, the cultivators and the farmers the fishermen the drivers the passengers the hotel workers even the media such as Dave Scramuels Timothy Polio Rick Winn and a lot of journalists also the taxi drivers and the people who are cleaning the village and the city Prime Minister Chastney also called on the social media to appreciate the people who have taken care of the sick the athletes such as Cathbert Modest the institution such as Sister Claire Auguste Eiffel and Philip Ninja Etienne who helped to educate several generations about us all these people who have taken care of the citizens when Madam Ernest Brown has done so society Cornstone Madam Juliet Broughwit and Mrs Desmond Philip who has taken care of the housing for the people to stay. Prime Minister Chastney also called these people never sought to buy services there for the job and the compassion for the country this crisis and that brings us to the end of the NTN Nightly. Join us next time at 7 p.m. with a repeat at 7 a.m. You can also catch up with us anytime on the same Nisha Government Facebook page or YouTube channel I'm Nisha Trance.