 District and school counselors from around the island convened in Denver to partake in a one-day workshop focusing on character building and resilience among students. According to Chief Education Officer Dr. Fiona Meyer, the theme for the workshop was selected in response to the upsurge in violence in communities, and she believes that counselors are well-placed within schools to transmit soft skills and values that seem to be lacking today. Empowering counselors on the theme of character building and resilience, she says, will empower counselors as they continue to shape and mold young students. Very important topic and theme of character building because we are keenly aware that so many of our societal ills, the social ills that our children face are due to the impact and sometimes we say lack thereof of the character building elements that we want to see in our society. So today is really a day to pull our counselors out, to give them a chance to interact with each other, to look at real-life situations that have been faced at the moment and how best they can support them of character building at a school level which we definitely hope will support also national character building situations as well. Fortuna Anthony, a lifelong educator and consultant, was the facilitator for the day and she says that she holds the topic very dear to her heart as she has seen how strategic intervention using the principles of character building and resilience has changed the course of many lives. She also went on to say that these simple principles and teaching young people to embrace them can start to change the tide and groom young persons to deal with conflict differently. The abscourge in crime. I am hoping and I am sending out a message to our people. There is nothing wrong with stepping back in a conflict. It is when you believe that you can resolve conflict with violence that things escalate. To our young men, I'm asking them put down the guns. The government has put a number of skills program in place. Get a skill, become independent and leave the violence behind because we are building the next generation and if we are not careful as we grow older we will pay the price. Councilors give guidance on personal, social and psychological problems and support the welfare needs of students. Their role and contribution most times goes a lot further as they are deeply involved in the crafting of the school culture not only for students but for staff and administration. From the communications units of the Ministry of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, I am Danielle Dubois reporting.