 Welcome to the NTN Nightly, I'm Nisha Charles, this edition's top stories. Efforts continue in the formulation of St Lucia's national competitive agenda. Residents of Canaries to improve job market skills with the opening of an ICT Career Development Centre, the 2019 Summer Institute's Trentons Leadership in the Education Sector, all that plus the latest in youth development, sports and the NTN Nouvelle Arquéon. The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, NCPC, continues to forge ahead with the formulation of the National Competitive Agenda, jointly funded by the Government of St Lucia and Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility. Once completed, the Competitiveness Agenda will provide the NCPC with the framework to measure how well St Lucia is performing as it relates to various actions, policies and initiatives undertaken to improve the Ireland's competitiveness. Here's Glenn Simon. Smart Specialization is an innovative approach which aims to bolster economic growth and overall competitiveness by enabling a regional country to identify and develop its own competitive advantages. The Smart Specialization approach is being employed in the formation of the National Competitiveness Agenda for St Lucia. Contracted to define St Lucia's competitiveness agenda is Infidae, a consulting firm based in Spain with over 30 years of experience in providing advanced services in innovation and competitiveness. Consultant with Infidae, Jaime del Castillo, noted that the approach to formulating the agenda is at two levels, first of which is the analyzing of all data and trends within the economy of St Lucia and that of similar competing destinations. The second level involves interfacing with various stakeholders in both the public and private sectors to identify the socio-economic situation of various activities on Ireland. St Lucia has an important tourist activity, a lot of the wealth of the island from that, but we have to promote not only tourists, maintain the competitiveness, increase the competitiveness, but to use the tourists to promote also other activities as manufacturing, agriculture, etc., to sell to the tourists and later to sell to the foreign markets where the tourists live. Castillo was admittedly pleased with the level and quality of participation and suggestions put forward by stakeholders during the diagnostic exercises. Meanwhile, project development consultant Dr. Karen Swift of Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility, the funders for this consultancy, said he was quite satisfied with the participatory nature of the engagement and the solid research which went into the analysis which led to the appropriate policy recommendations. Right through all this has been a lot of positive engagement, a lot of good feedback that coincides with the analysis that the consulting firm has done and a lot of useful input to go in to further sharpen and refine the agenda which is on target for completion by December of this year. He added that a third and final mission is slated for October 2019 where a more refined draft of the agenda will be presented alongside the implementation plan and financing strategy. What needs to be done, how it's going to be done and what it's going to be paid for. That's what we're coming back to next when we return in October. Director of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council Fiona Hingson said the competitiveness agenda will be vital to the work of the NCPC. The agenda is expected to have a 10-year life cycle involving short-term, medium-term and long-term activities. We're hoping that the agencies that would be involved in the implementation of the agenda would see it as a blueprint that they can use towards improving and synchronizing competitiveness. It is an agenda that will incorporate the work of different agencies. It will also incorporate our work as the NCPC as well. So we are hoping that it can be used and we are really hoping that in the next few years we can see improvement in our competitiveness. Compete Caribbean continues to work collaboratively with the consulting firm Infidae and the NCPC towards the targeted completion of the competitiveness agenda for St. Lucia for the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Glenn Simon, reporting. Speaking of competitiveness, residents of Canaries can now improve on job market skills with the opening of an ICT Career Development Centre in the community. More from Janelle Norville. Canaries recently saw the implementation of two developmental initiatives that is the rebranding of the ICT Access Centre to the Innovation and Career Development Centre and the launch of the Youth and Adult Literacy Program. Yes, I can. Director of Innovation in the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Generations and Sustainable Development, Lynelle Malzair, highlighting the thrust of the programme, indicated that Canaries were specially selected for the pilot. You, the residents of Canaries, have been chosen to lead the way for the shift to nurturing creativity and ideation, that shift to generate products and services that will solve our problems and contribute to our national economic growth and the improvement of our lives. You are called to demonstrate the ideal to the rest of St. Lucia where it relates to supporting your community in the phase of becoming literate in our project. Yes, I can. After which, we will not have the need to say to the world that St. Lucia is a fully literate society but our economic and social outputs will communicate that without words. The rebranding of the centre is described as an important milestone to meet the demands of the future where citizens of St. Lucia will be given the opportunity to learn, innovate and display their skills and talents. The centres will not only focus on technology but also serve as a medium for citizens to obtain correct guidance, among other things. The Yes I Can program is an initiative between the Government of St. Lucia and the Government of Cuba. It is a literacy program developed in Cuba that is a teaching method for adult education and has been implemented in many countries the world over. Honourable Dominic Fede is the Minister for Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries and Parliamentary Representative for Ansela Rican-Riz. With innovativeness, what is required is not bigness in size, not big allocations of resources but what is required is the creativity of the human mind. And I think that this opportunity exists for small island developing states like St. Lucia as we seek for opportunities to diversify from some of our economic sectors like tourism. I am strongly convinced that information technology can play a greater role than it does today in the economic development of our country. Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, Honourable Dr. Gil Rigabet indicated that the launch and rebranding marked the commencement of the implementation of a suite of initiatives geared towards better equipping citizens to access opportunities for self advancement and economic independence. This signals a paradigmatic shift away from simply providing ICT related services but ensuring that there are programs that can enhance your employability. I wish to echo what Miss Malzé said that it is no coincidence that we are also launching the Yes I Can program which is an initiative that has been championed by our friends in Cuba and we are delighted that Canaries has been chosen as the pilot to ensure that the citizens of this beautiful community or the residents of this beautiful community are not caught on the technological highway on the hard shoulder nor are they left out of the current literacy waves. The official ceremony was held on Sunday 7th July 2019 at the Innovation and Career Development Centre in Canaries. For the Government Information Service, I am General Norville. The Ministry of Education is hoping to change the educational landscape of St. Lucia through art. The ministry endorsed the third annual art conference for teachers which according to the Deputy Permanent Secretary in Education, Kendall Kodra, was an opportunity to create and sustain the professional learning communities that must be developed so that art programs can be strengthened within all schools. Kodra is hopeful that the art programs will be expanded into printmaking, photography, computer art, cultures and api mashe. The Deputy Permanent Secretary also hopes that art will evolve to become integral to the overall teaching methods within schools. Art plays a significant role in helping students to develop passion and motivation. But I really want this morning to challenge you through the professional learning communities to find ways of integrating visual arts into other subject areas so that it becomes part of the human effective experience. Let art not be seen as a mass subject but a teaching method and a learning process. This would require some change in school improvement planning but I know this is going to be beneficial. To those persons who have completed their course in Papi Mashe and who will be certified, I congratulate you. This is one of the best forms of job-embedded professional development and this is the model for teacher development that must be promoted. Meantime, the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Gender Relations is hosting the 2019 Summer Institute, the Strength and Leadership in the Ireland's Education Sector. The Summer Institute opened Monday in both the north and south of the Ireland and will run until Friday, July 12, 2019. It started off initially with a grant from the Global Education, the Global Partnership for Education and it's now coined the OECS Education Support Program. This year, the equip team has come on board. The equip project was launched in October last year and this year there's a strong professional development component. We have recognized that and in any loans, in any initiatives that we are undertaking, we are integrating professional development activities in it. We are in a stage where our students are ever changing. The methodologies that we need to train our students, some people call them our technology students and the methods that were used in previous years are no longer applicable so we need to put instructors to keep on retraining, retooling, reskilling our leaders and teachers. And this is the NTN Nightly. Ryan O'Brien is up next. Yes, I'm Usha. This is your boy Mark 11 telling all the drivers on the road. Be careful on the roads today and always roll with a designated driver. If you're the driver, drink responsibly. Go and come back home safely. Out. A message from the Ministry of Health, Wellness, Human Services, Gender Relations and this station. Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest updates in youth development and sport. Welcome everyone. I'm Ryan O'Brien with your update from the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports on the NTN Nightly news. Table tennis coach with the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, Chris Wells, has described the last school sporting year for table tennis as being a very good one. Wells spoke to NTN Nightly recently following the recognition of the island's top performers in table tennis among schools. We had a very successful school table tennis year. I mean, we were able to complete the secondary schools, male and female team championships. We were able to complete the individual events like boys singles, girls singles, boys doubles and mixed doubles. Then we were also able to accomplish our fourth annual primary schools, well, inter-districts, table tennis at the primary school level, six of the districts competing. It was a very competitive tournament. And to cap it off, during the third term we had the special needs table tennis championships which featured all the special needs schools island-wide competing in a table tennis tournament as well as a physical literacy fiesta. So in all in all, we had a very packed year, but it was also a successful year. Looking towards the future, the table tennis coach was optimistic looked bright, but also cautioned that it will also call for greater resources and mobilization. We have a bright future, but it leads to a lot of challenges. I mean, like, based on the rate at which our spotters now sign to grow, we see the urgent need for more coaches, more training facilities, island-wide that can house about four tables in each of the sporting districts. We're getting more pressure now because when a lot of work is being done, you're under a lot of pressure to deliver all the time. So, yeah, so that's where we have to go for the future. Table tennis coach Chris Wells. CardiCom Secretary General Irwin LaRocque has described the recent CardiCom 10K held here as another successful running of the event and noted that the activity was well in keeping with the theme of encouraging healthy lifestyles of persons around the region. It always amazes me to see our athletes the endurance at the exhibit. As I said earlier, that they epitomized discipline and healthy lifestyle. And, of course, being in St. Lucia, this is the second 10K race that I've witnessed in St. Lucia. I recall the last one I was in St. Lucia. Of course, at the time I was not in St. Lucia, but I was here for it, starting at the same point and I think it went well. We have nine participating countries here. I hope we can continue to increase on the numbers. And, of course, I think this is the youngest ever participant in a 10K event. We've had youth in other race events during the 10K, but I was a 2K or 3K, but this is the first time we've had that and it's amazing. And I think it all goes well. And the theme for today and the general theme of leading a healthy lifestyle is something that we have to take on seriously. Secretary-General Auroch congratulated all participants of the 10K and stressed that they were all winners in their own right. And that's how we conclude our update from Youth Development and Sports for today. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Thanks, Ryan. A memorandum of understanding and MOU was signed between Niagara College and the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. As part of the MOU, Niagara College and the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College will explore potential opportunities for students and faculty exchanges as well as academic pathways established in 1985. The college is the only community college on the island of St. Lucia and is accredited by the St. Lucia Government's Ministry of Education. Niagara College was recently awarded a consultancy contract for mainstreaming gender equality of St. Lucia's National Sustainable Development Plan. And stay with the NTA nightly. Up next, Thomas Hutchinson is here with the NTA Nouvelle Arquio. I'm innovative. I'm competitive. I am productive. I'm creative. I constantly improve what I do. And how I do it. I provide excellent customer service. I never stop learning. I give all my best, always. The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council embracing excellence. Welcome back. We join Prime Miss Hutchinson for the NTA Nouvelle Arquio. I'm the Department of University of St. Lucia with the formation of the Government of St. Lucia. I'm the Start of Life Council of the National Policies Department of Santans, Thagn 여�or from St. Lucia-Osaltis, DONよ強础 and I welcome you all to our Sponsored With the NTA Nouvelle Arquio. and encourage people from other countries to serve their countries where they are currently living. Prime Minister Shasnei, who had to address the ceremony to officially open the second conference of Chef Karikam, as it was said last week, declared that this action would be a tribute to the reputation of today's people for their lives. However, Prime Minister Shasnei, the panel absolutely does not justify the quality of the action of today's people who have damaged the lives of today's people. Prime Minister Shasnei noted that the blessing of today's people to establish protection for the climate crisis and natural disasters is also a challenge for climate change because it is an opportunity for them to take the time to come to the international community, because it is a big country for the people of the world. Prime Minister Shasnei added that unfortunately, it is a big country for the people of the world to be able to assist and support the people of the world who deserve it to address the climate crisis. However, today's people will continue to do their best to address it themselves. Prime Minister Shasnei, who had to address the ceremony to officially open the second conference of Chef Karikam, as it was said last week, called on the Chef Karikam to establish a foundation to effectively address the climate crisis that will continue to devalue today's people. I will not delay this initiative and leave the second conference before it is done. Thank you the UN General Secretary for promising to help Karikam in any necessary way to address the climate crisis. On the other side, the program will turn more to the Prime Minister Shasnei who had to address the Chef Karikam who was invited to this meeting last week. I'm not going to say that. The chief came along, I also talked about the way you're treated, the way Europe continues to train people to listen to you. If these chiefs are threatened, they will directly affect the economic life of these countries. The chiefs declared that they see you, they will determine the way you manage your financial affairs. These chiefs declared that they really can't accept the fact that they have the authority to regulate the tax system because they have the authority to impose the law that allows them to govern the tax affairs. And also the operation of the people who want to break the law. Without these authority, without the chain of consultation and without the government. The chief came along, he was very concerned about the way you treat the people in these countries, the new list that has been made according to the countries that have the authority to operate the go-back. So, with these chiefs, they will be able to manage themselves. The chain of consultation and without the fact that they are doing this in Europe is still being supported. The new list will be protected by the national list. The chiefs said that they will be able to do their best to establish the highest level of cooperation and in Europe they will be able to govern the tax affairs. The organization of justice in collaboration and the office of the General Secretary of the Union, Attila, to address the good work of the law. This was the secret department with the highest public officers in the U.S. government to develop a diverse government department. Attila, this was to address, mainly, the efforts to make the system of justice a caricum. But it is not directly under the control of the justice system that is under the control of the law. The department of law in the U.S. government to lead Attila Salah to address the good work of the law. The department of justice, to build a law at the General Law, Gillian Widle-Jones, addressed the objectives of Attila Salah. Madam Jones, with this participant, would like to make Attila a legal counsel to provide every possible way to address the law and address the lack of expertise to consider and program the solution or the part of the piece that you don't understand is to make sure that everything that you have done is equal so that you can take these participants in the way you want to, so that you can establish these works so that you can address all that you need to do, so that you can pay the bill so that you can prevent the original complication of the Registration Organization so that you can complement these participants in the way you want to do Registration Organization is an initiative that is an operation for those who are learning and it is established in the form of an exact name in which you can establish your own country, Canada so that's why we are here for this new initiative I want to thank Mr. Otta for inviting me to this new initiative I want to thank him for this new initiative I want to thank him for this new initiative Thank you Pail Primus and here's a look at what's happening to us, whether or not It is mostly fair, hazy and breezy, occasionally becoming cloudy with a few showers A tropical wave located over the central tropical Atlantic is moving westward near 20 miles per hour or 31 kilometers per hour This wave is expected to affect the eastern Caribbean by Friday Two other tropical waves located over the eastern tropical Atlantic and just off the coast of West Africa are moving westward at about 12 and 17 miles per hour or 19 and 28 kilometers per hour respectively Tropical Cyclone formation is not expected over the tropical Atlantic during the next two days Tides for Castries Harbour low at 309pm, high at 958pm Tides for Viewford Bay low at 4.46pm, high at 11.05pm Seas moderate to locally rough with waves 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 and reduced visibility The sun will rise Wednesday at 5.42am And that brings us to the end of the NTN Nightly Join us next time at 7pm with a repeat at 7am Also catch up with us anytime on the Saint Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel I'm Nisha Charles