 Welcome to NTN Nightly. I am General Norville. This edition stops stories. The Minister for Commerce lords the nation's youth for their business drive as Global Entrepreneurship Week is launched. A medical team is deployed to help manage the outbreak of COVID-19 at the Bodilay Correctional Facility and winners of the 2021 Quail Poem Competition are awarded. The St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in collaboration with strategic partners on Monday 8th November officially launched Global Entrepreneurship Week. The week is recognized as one of the biggest celebrations of innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. During this week, people the world over via local, national and global activities are inspired to explore their potential as self-status and innovators. Honorable Emma Hippolyte, Minister for Commerce, manufacturing, business development, cooperatives and consumer affairs explain that the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well in St. Lucia, especially amongst the youth. Recently, we have seen at the ministry an influx in the number of young persons taking the bold step of registering their businesses. This is very heartwarming for us at the ministry as this is one of the targeted groups in our upcoming interventions. We do believe that the youth can make a meaningful contribution to society and also provide a livelihood for themselves instead of seeking employment. In response to the challenges facing the youth, our prime minister has placed youth high on our agenda with the youth economy program, which plans to provide tailored incentives in the form of grants and low interest loans that the youth can benefit from. In the meantime, I am imploring you to take advantage of any opportunity that would assist your business in its growth and development. Entrepreneurs, young and old, just get ready and get moving. Activities for the weak range from large-scale competitions and events to intimate networking gatherings, connecting entrepreneurs to potential collaborators, mentors and even investors, introducing them to new possibilities and exciting opportunities. Global entrepreneurship week over the years has inspired millions to take the next step and explore their business potential while gaining new connections and increased collaborations to strengthen their business and the entrepreneurial community. Karen Peter is the president of the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. The St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, along with its affiliate programs of junior achievement and St. Lucia Youth Business Trust, are exceedingly pleased to once again host and put on in our own small way Global Entrepreneurship Week, GEW. GEW 2021 comes at a time in my view where we truly need entrepreneurs. We need entrepreneurs to help us lead our country into a brighter future. We need entrepreneurs who are bold and brave and while we see problems and challenges, they see opportunities and solutions. This movement, originally a government backed campaign to connect youth, women, home workers and ethnic minorities to enterprise opportunities, must now be an all-of-nation movement in St. Lucia. Global entrepreneurship this year is being celebrated from the 8th to the 14th of November. The initiative launched in 2008 and has since grown to 125 countries with 24,008 partner organizations, planning 33,846 activities that directly engage millions of participants every year. The commission of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, OECS in cooperation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNTAD with support from the Secretariat for the Convention on Species of Wild Fauna and Flora host statistic holder consultation and validation event for the UNTAD OECS Blue Bio-Trade Project. The dual thrust of the UNTAD OECS Blue Bio-Trade Project focused on empowering small-scale coastal producers from the OECS Member States to capitalize on the briskly increasing global demand for marine-based bio-resources like the Queen Conch and high-value algae like CMOS. At the consultation and validation event, stakeholders were informed of the research findings and evidence-based policy solutions that will serve as a basis for delivering tailor-made capacity-building activities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and St. Lucia. Chief Fisheries Officer Serita Williams-Peter highlighted one of the most important objectives of the project as increasing economic opportunities for coastal communities through the reduction of trade barriers to regional and international markets. So right now what has been done, they've done a study to look at what the potential for trade and investment, export markets, etc. What the findings of that study is being displayed today and we are getting inputs from various Fisher folk and other stakeholders into that study. That's very important because as it starts with a study it helps us understand where can we go with the industry? What are the potentials for the industry for increasing opportunities for livelihoods in the sector? One of the project's main findings is the possibility of trade with French-Caribbean countries. Economic consultant and coordinator of the Blue Bio-Trade Project, Alexander Govan, emphasized the importance of continuing collaboration with the Government of St. Lucia in order to maximize the value of the Queen Conch product which includes the shells as well as the pearls found in the conch. St. Lucia is very special in terms of the Queen Conch production because you guys have very deep Queen Conch which means it actually is of a very unique value. Unfortunately you guys cannot legally export right now to Martinique and if you are able to legally export to Martinique, St. Lucia producers will be able to capture a much, much higher value. So we're hoping right now to be able to figure out how to legally export to the European Union so that St. Lucia producers can get the highest possible price for their very, very special product. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development, Honourable Alfred Prosper expressed gratitude to the OECS and other stakeholders for their commitment towards implementing the Bio-Trade Project and harnessing the economic opportunities inherent in the effective stewardship of Caribbean marine resources. The participation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Rural Development of St. Lucia in the Blue Bio-Trade Project reflects our commitment to pursuing the sustainable development of our ocean and fisheries resources. Today I hope that you as key stakeholders and constituents involved in the country share your opinion and views on how you would like this industry to move forward. We will be listening closely to what you have to say and incorporating these views into the work of the Ministry. Minister Prosper stated that whilst the project's goal is to ensure that small-scale coastal producers within and outside of the selected Caribbean countries benefit from trade opportunities in the Queen Conch Value Chain, the importance of ensuring the sustainability of the ocean's resources should not be overlooked. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anicia-Antoine Reporting. For four consecutive days, beginning on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, a medical team from the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Early Affairs comprising Dr. Glenn Phillipsian, Dr. Mark Melius, Dr. Marlon Ragana and Dr. Joanna Jabatist have been on the ground at the Baudelaire Correctional Facility carrying out COVID-19 antigen tests for both employees and the inmates. Of corrections, Hilary Herman says contact tracing was identified as an area which needed to be urgently strengthened as full vaccination coverage is low in both instances of staff and inmates. By Thursday, November 4, 2021, the exercise had gone into day three with over 70 staff and approximately 150 inmates tested. Results returned in the quickest turnaround time, which is at least 24 hours. So far into the testing exercise, results for officers have returned negative outcomes. However, the Ministry of Health has confirmed 10 new COVID-19 positive cases among inmates. Those inmates were already in quarantine. Minister for Home Affairs Honorable Dr. Virginia Albert Poyatt has indicated that there will be improved measures in the coming days to protect the inmates. A review of the screening process for visitors will also be introduced. The Mico Library is now better prepared to execute online programs and activities as the Ministry of Education presented a consignment of digital devices to the institution last Wednesday. Chris Sartney has more in this report. The Mico Library has over the years undergone necessary transformation that will allow it to provide services to its clientele through programs that build literacy through the use of modern technology. New technological devices provided to the institution over the years have disappeared due to theft, leaving residents of the community without the necessary platforms that will help bridge the digital divide. It is for this reason, the Ministry of Education saw it fitting to replace those stolen devices in order to ensure that literacy programs under the transforming lives through early literacy projects can be resuscitated. Minister for Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, Honorable Sean Edward, who spoke at the handing over ceremony at the Mico Library this week, registered the Ministry's commitment to ensuring St. Lucian's received the training required in the use of information and computer technology. As a government and as a ministry, we are big on the incorporation of ICT or technology in education delivery and for us, education is not what happens within the confines of a classroom in a school building. We believe in lifelong learning. We believe in education where people can acquire knowledge and skills at every turn in the society. So for those persons who are not of school age, they too can come to the library facility on an afternoon, on a weekend after hours basically to enrich themselves to broaden the knowledge base and to acquire information that would cause them to be more effective citizens in society. The minister says government is committed to the reintroduction of the laptop program to secondary schools that will ensure students at that level are not just able to use new technologies but will be provided with devices required to efficiently undertake their studies. We have given the populace the assurance that the children of Saint Lucia will not be left behind as the global education community undergoes changes and it modernizes itself. Our children will not be left behind. We are now at a stage in our development as a country where a laptop or a tablet is no longer a luxurious item. But instead it is a necessity that will facilitate the education process. Member of parliament for Mikunov, honourable Jeremiah Norbert while thanking the ministry and the New Zealand government for the new items called on constituents who use the library to take care of the new devices and to safeguard them from being stolen. We also like to thank the New Zealand fund for ensuring that they made this possible in the first place and as you know we are a government that puts people first. We understand the importance of such devices especially given the COVID environment and the challenges brought about by the COVID environment so we know that this will go a long way in not just assisting but continuing what has been started and I know that the librarians look forward to receiving these donations. Permanent Secretary in the Department of Education, Innovation and Vocational Training Michelle Charles says the ministry recognizes the need for community libraries to have the necessary devices required to conduct modern programs and pledge the ministry's continued support to this institution and others like it on the island. But we recognize at the Ministry of Education the importance of this initiative the Transforming Lives and Early Learners Program. We know that it impacts significantly our pre-K students, kindergarten and grade 1 students but not only will these devices be used for this demographic but we note too that our persons within the Mikunov constituency regularly come to the library and use these devices. The Miku Library with the help of the new devices will be able to design and implement programs as a supplementary resource for formal instruction. They will also be able to train volunteers to assess and instruct students in various literacy skills and also train parents to work with their children to reinforce the skills already learned. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Education Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, I am Chris Satney, reporting. Winners of the 2021 Quayol Poem Competition funded by UNESCO received prizes and commendation for their contributions to the national competition at a prize-giving ceremony held at the Finance Administrative Center on Tuesday. Daniel Dubois has more in this report. The Quayol Poetry Competition was first launched in February 2019 on the occasion of Mother Language Day and as part of St. Lucia's 40th anniversary of independence. The objective of the competition is to give greater visibility to and promote the use of Quayol language nationally. It also supports another UNESCO funded initiative which seeks to advance the implementation of the national language policy which will promote Quayol as a language of instruction. Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO Marcia Simforian said since the 2019 inception of the competition, the team has been pleased to receive several submissions that will soon be published. This year, as part of observances of our 40th anniversary of the establishment of the National Commission for UNESCO and the 40th anniversary of St. Lucia's admission to membership of the Francophonic community, we have decided to undertake a project to have the publication of a collection of Quayol poems from our participants. The project will be funded, therefore, by the International Organization for the Francophony and we'll see the publication of a collection of 40 poems to commemorate our 40th anniversary. Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information, Senator Honourable Gibyan Fudinen, spoke at the prize-giving ceremony and congratulated winners and participants for their contribution, highlighting the urgency behind the Quayol language receiving the recognition it deserves. He said its initiatives like these will support this urgent mandate. I'll say that in English. Until we formalize the Quayol language and put it in the curriculum and teach it to our children in the same way that we teach them English, the language will not get the value and the recognition that it deserves. Out of scores of submissions, three persons came out on top. Third place was given to Jamison Edwin, second place, Rochelle Victor and the first place title was captured by Anna Zilter-Tench. Ms. Tench says she's elated by the news and looks forward to competing again. My name is Anna Zilter-Tench. It was a pleasure taking part in this competition. I always love our Quayol language because it's more expressive than English. And I believe it's a wonderful thing that UNESCO is promoting to have this competition because it encourages me, because I took part last year, it encourages me to do better and learn more. I didn't expect I would win. I just wanted to take part. Also present at the prize-giving ceremony was the deputy director of the regional Francophonie office based in Haiti, Musa Sinan. Currently on island, meeting of stakeholders and various entities, seeking to strengthen ties and engage on several levels. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Education, sustainable development, innovation, science, technology and educational training, I am Danielle Dubois reporting. This is NTN Nightly. Primers Hutchingson is up next. Stay with us. The Department of Finance has introduced the Electronic Government Procurement System, EGP. The EGP system has many benefits for stakeholders involved in government procurement. Government seeks to adopt a strategic approach to its purchasing process. Electronic government procurement improves efficiency of procurement and enhances data capture. The EGP is innovative and will automate the sequence from notification, receiving and evaluation of submissions to final contract award. It improves communication between vendors and government agencies, provides greater transparency and builds confidence in the vendor community through increased access to information. To participate, vendors, suppliers and contractors must register on the electronic government procurement platform. EGP, Improving Efficiency and Transparency in the Acquisition of Goods, Works and Services. Welcome back. We join Primers Hutchingson for the NTN Nouvelle of Quayol. Thank you very much, Janelle. Thank you, Madam Department of Universities for the information and government services, such as GIS, and the National Television which is now in Quayol, which is now in Primers Hutchingson. I would like to thank the University of St. Louis and the City of St. Louis as well as the University of Mouses, Jebattis. I have formed a nation with the necessary to place this project which is WEG and its protocol that is in place to protect the sick of the corona. We also have Jebattis, a force that is in place to protect us and even if the world can't find it because of the restrictions in the country, it is necessary to understand that it is the nation that governs the battle to preserve it. I would like to say that the Ministry of Health and the Apology consider the situation at the end of the week so that the government doesn't support the work that is being done but it is a situation that the government doesn't support in place in front of the government. We have always talked with the Ministry of Health about the work that is being done but it is not like that we are doing it wrong. We have to continue with the government and the Apology because it is not enough to protect us. We don't want to continue with the situation that is being done because the world is doing the work that is being done that is being done because the world is going to visit the sick because we have to keep the situation so that we can change the situation for everyone. We have to continue with the work that is being done because we have to keep the situation being done because the government doesn't want to change the situation because the work is being done because the government doesn't want to We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to change this to affect everyone. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. We have to do this with the help of the people who are coming to visit us. Thank you very much.