 Then the, I'm sorry, vocational training, Mr. Kendall Kodra, deputy permanent secretary, specially invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you all to the official opening of our days of activity as we celebrate World Creativity and Innovation Day. You have taken the time to be here and we just want to thank you to give you your first presentation or your first set of remarks. I would like to call the lady who is at the helm of leading the Department of Innovation, none other than Ms. Lennel Mauser, who will give you some more information on what this glorious day is all about. Ladies and gentlemen, help me welcome Ms. Lennel Mauser to the podium. Thank you, Madam Mistress of Ceremonies. Salutations to dignitaries in our midst. I open with a testimonial today that dreams do come true. Happy Creativity and Innovation Day. And welcome to our first ever national symposium on creativity and innovation. I am thrilled that I've brought to fruition this event that recognizes the catalytic power of creativity and innovation, a driver of economies today. Globally, we share the theme for 2023, step out and innovate. The theme encourages us to step out, to take that risk, to think beyond our limitations, to embrace challenges as opportunities and call to action that time is now. Step out and innovate is a call to action to leave your comfort zone and embrace the unknown and explore uncharted territories, to be open thinkers and to think outside the box. By the way, is there really a box? And so the Department of Education, Innovation and Vocational Training has done just that today. We have stepped out, out of our offices, out of the tradition and conventions of symposiums, and we have stepped out to highlight the contributions of our creatives and innovators in St. Lucia. We thought it was a risk, but what if it works? And as you can see, it has. And if this is the mindset that we wish for all St. Lucia's to assume, then St. Lucia will be a better place seeing greater levels of innovation. To acknowledge the risk of any entrepreneurial, social or personal venture, one must allow that window for what if it works? To override the apprehension and the inhibitions that pervade us. This call is open to everyone because creativity and innovation transcends all ages, ethnicities, and color. We are one, and coincidentally, in the context of St. Lucia, it brings the two colors together. If you know what I mean. Making us orange. We see today's activity as a historic marker, a first of our creation for world creativity and innovation day, also marking another gain in the decade of research and innovation, and an action for public good, advancing the ninth sustainable development goal, industry, innovation, and infrastructure. At the heart of innovation is creativity, and though views on creativity may differ, there's no question that the fulcrum of innovation is the ability to generate one's idea, which is critical to forming new businesses, encouraging business growth, staying ahead of the competitive curve, adapting to change in the local and global market, and solving complex problems, least we succumb to them. But creativity goes beyond work and business. It promotes human capacity building. It fosters pride, builds communities, galvanizes our value, and nurtures our confidence as a people. So how can we step out and innovate? Firstly, embrace a different way of thinking. One that promotes a mindset that sees solutions and not problems. A mindset that embraces diversity, inclusivity, and empowers people to want more and to do more. Being ordinary no longer cuts it. There's one question that innovation thrives on. How can we bring people ideas and concepts together to form one, one novel, one new, one phenomenal? Therefore it is imperative that we create environments where everyone feels valued, where they can converge for common good, and be encouraged to contribute to our society without fear of reprisal. I strongly believe that this tiny island nation of ours, which has produced two Nobel laureates, has the capacity to build strong, sustainable, and innovative. Our culture, skills, tenacity, and experiences all speak to the characteristics of innovative people, but it is not sufficient to have these characteristics only. We need to cultivate a growth mindset that challenges the status quo and develops an appetite for risk. Together with the hankering and passion of knowledge, we need to be willing to create new knowledge. We need to engage in research. St. Lucien must develop a tolerance for failure in the workplace and in schools. What is the difference? What is the real difference between a check mark and an X? And how does it make our children feel? Because failure is our biggest teacher. It tells us when to pivot and how to pivot and how to come back stronger. I see St. Lucia as a future, with future leaders in innovation, but it is important that we not only adopt, explore, and exploit new technologies, but we need to integrate them throughout our lifestyles. It's not sufficient to just use technology now, but we must create it too. It has the power to change the way we work, the way we live, and our existence. Technology is our new best friend. The Department of Education, Innovation, and Vocational Training is committed to its mandate to continue to teach our nation to fish in sustainable agriculture, culinary, and entrepreneurial services, construction and heritage, art and media design, and in the area of engineering and technology. The commitment of the government to the future of our country through these initiatives is to support the youth economy, agency, and other enterprises that are engaged in incubators. So to provide the tools, the line, the hook, the fishing rod, and the Magellan by innovator, Mr. and Mrs. Callis-Nuel is a full step, and the task at hand for every St. Lucian, and the responsibility for us all is to pick up those tools, apply the skills, and innovate. In closing, I say to St. Lucians and others around the world who have been inspired and so moved to action. You have all you need to succeed within you. Even when others don't share that vision, you have it all. It is right here within you. So continue to persevere. It's your time now to step out and innovate. Thank you so much for being here today. Thank you very much, Ms. Malze for leading that charge. Step out and innovate. Right now we have our next speaker, and this speaker is somebody who is no stranger to us. Someone who was willing to step out and innovate. Oftentimes we think of creativity, we think of innovation, and we think of new ideas. But sometimes it's just getting a new approach, redesigning, and this lady was someone who brought our Creole language to Parliament. This is a fellow creative. I don't know how many of you knew, but Dimple herself is actually a performer, so a creative in our mix. So she had to be part of this celebration today, a celebration of creativity and innovation. Ladies and gentlemen, help me welcome a lady of firsts, our Governor General Emeritus, Dame Perlett-Louise. A lot of proceedings, a lot of proceedings, and thank you for this exciting introduction. Well, yes, I'm a performer, but we are good performers and bad performers. So at the end, you and I decide which one of them I am. Four years ago, a call went out from the Cendrisha chapter of the Global Environmental Fund Small Grants Project, what we know as Jeff S.G.P. For government to declare 2019 to 2029 as our decade of innovation and research under the theme unleashing our creativity, crafting our destiny. So this year marks the midpoint of that decade, and I am pleased that we are marking this milestone by convening this National Symposium on creativity and innovation, which will help craft a policy which will inform the integration of research and innovation into sustainable development processes here in Cendrisha. I am happy to note that we are not starting from scratch, that we didn't wait for the declaration of the decade of research and innovation to start doing what we needed to do. Over the years, Cendrisha has produced inventors, innovators, creators, pioneers, as they sought solutions to problems, both at home and in the wider international community. Everyone in Cendrisha knows about two Nobel laureates. That's a given. And in fact, Arthur Lewis has been called the father of development economics in the sense that he took a different view of development of economics, but particularly of economics in developing states. But while everybody knows about the two Nobel laureates, there are perhaps not many know, for example, Pary Husbands Jr. from High Street Castries, who is now a leader in supercomputers in the USA, with several patents named after him. A Dr. Kato Lawrinson with family roots in Marchion, who is known globally as the father of regenerative engineering. What that means is that Dr. Lawrinson has developed a process where you can grow limbs, not prosthetic limbs, but actual flesh and blood limbs. So that's what is referred to as regenerative engineering. And then we have a Dr. Nikaya Dall from Grossely. I think some of us know the Dall's from Grossely. There are quite a few doctors among the Dall's. And Dr. Dall's latest innovation, which he calls Nanoflex, is a new test to identify infectious diseases in 15 minutes, not two weeks when it goes over there and decide what it is that you're suffering from. In 15 minutes, his Nanoflex should be able to identify whatever infection we may have contracted. Then we have a professor, Audrey Henry Lee from Riverside Road, Castries, who has done outstanding work in social policy as director of the South Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies at UWI Mona Campus. Then we have, and we just heard his name mentioned a while ago, a Kallis Noel, a young fisherman from La Bre, who incidentally made it as far as from three at the secondary school and then felt that he was not challenged and motivated enough and so sought challenges elsewhere. But he has invented what he calls a life cube, which is a solar-powered desalination plant. And you know how that would come in handy. Now we talk about climate change, water shortages, and then we have, you know, a few bits of water all around us, so a desalination machine. And this machine is now being used in Noru, an island in the Pacific Ocean. In fact, they heard about Kallis's invention and they ordered. And so I think two years ago, the life cube made its way from St. Lucia, from the port to Noru in the South Pacific. And right now, Kallis is currently working on a smart fish aggregating device, what we call the FADS, a FADS. And I think that's what he also calls the Magellan, which uses satellite technology to provide information in real time. Then we look at our students who have participated annually in the National Science and Technology Fairs over the years. In that respect, Dr. James Fletcher has lamented the fact that there are many innovative projects coming out of our schools and yet we do not assess them to see which ones are commercially viable, nor do we reward students sufficiently to provide motivation for promoting innovation. Then we have our creatives in the arts and entertainment. And here again, we have been giving insufficient attention to the cultural dimension of sustainable development. It is important that we understand that there exists a deep relationship between culture and economic growth, between an appreciation of the value of popular cultural expressions and national development. And therefore, we have our agriculturists, our agricultural practitioners. We all agree that they require research and innovation. In areas like the development of new species and breeds, the management of pests and diseases, production issues such as irrigation and green housing. In regard, I think instead of having gone forward, we took a step backward a few years ago by decommissioning our Agricultural Research Institute. And we had one particularly focusing on the banana industry and I'm sure you've heard of Dr. Ed C. Edmonds. So now I think an Agricultural Institute has to be one of our main priorities if we are to achieve sustainable food security. So how do we step up? How do we integrate research and innovation into all aspects of sustainable development and create a culture of scientific inquiry which will best prepares for the complex problems of the future? In a recent presentation at a symposium which was organized last year by the St. Lucia Jeff chapter, Professor Audrey Henry Lee, I'm to whom I referred a little while ago, made the following recommendations. She says research and innovation must be about people. It must be inclusive. It must start with everyone if we are to attain sustainable living and development. If we are to step out, we need to do so in style. Not any kind of political baby steps, but style and grandeur as Derek Walcott would say. We are people of style. We are people of large gestures. So the findings of our 2020 symposium on knowledge fair recommend the path we should follow. And some of these recommendations are research and innovation must address basic socioeconomic needs. That is it must be transformational. It must be undertaken in accordance with the highest standards of ethics and rigor. Not just to do something just for the sake of doing something, but something that can stand out there and pass the test of rigor and ethics. It must be participatory. It must be inclusive. It must be systematic. It must be decentralized. It must be integrated in the education system. And that is something that most persons who have spoken about our need for research and information have lamented the fact that we do not start early enough to orient our people in that direction. And what is very important, there must be dedicated budgets approved by government, state agencies, the private sector and educational institutions, particularly at the tertiary level. It's not a question of saying, yes, this is a department of innovation and we have a little line item somewhere and then when the money is asked, well, it's not, I didn't see it on a budget for innovation. No, we have to have approved specific budgets if we are going to make a good thing out of our decade of innovation and research. And the architecture for research and innovation should be there. Now, when I talk of architecture, I'm talking about particular institutions, you know. Right now, we have the Vaughan Allen Lewis Institute, Research Institute, it's better known as Baleary. So there is this institute there, but the governance, the architecture is not, you know, sufficiently robust for us to make a difference. So all these are the recommendations. Is that a tall order? Indeed it is. But let's put aside our traditional reticence, our self-doubt, can we do it? Do we have the personnel, oh, let's just put our best foot forward. Let's not only step out, but as I said, I began, let's do it in style. Let's strut down the creativity, research and innovation catwalk. And let's do it, step out in style. I mean, the choice of orange is, you know, I mean you can't miss the orange. So we are ready, stepping up in style. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Dame Paulette, Louise, our Governor General Emeritus. And I guess you can see why she was invited to be here. It is said, in fact, I think it's Steve Jobs who says, creativity is about connecting things. And she connected the whole journey in terms of, how many of you are new about some of these St. Lucians? Like usually when we hear about innovation, sometimes we think it's the big country thing, it's the US, but thank you, Dame Paulette, for reminding us that right here in St. Lucia, we have many innovative talents, from Riverside Road, Marsha, Viewfoot, all about that is a lot of national pride. I gained listening to this address and of course we know, with innovation comes the whole idea of our sustainable development goal. And the Ministry of Education, we are not just education, but we are education, sustainable development, science, technology, innovation and vocational training. Now all of that being said, we have a special lady to bring to the podium, the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Education, Innovation and Vocational Training. She's the one who's the lead in the charge and hopefully Dame Paulette, she's the one who's gonna get us the extra funds for the Department of Innovation. Help me welcome, ladies and gentlemen, P.S. Michelle Charles. Thank you very much, Ms. Dorsey. That's rather a tall order I must say. But first let me acknowledge among us some of our very special guests, starting with Dame Paulette Luise, Governor-General Emeritus, our Reverend Kwame Giamfi, our Deputy Permanent Secretary, Mr. Kendall Kodra, Ms. Linnell Mauser, the Director of Innovation, Ms. Beverly Diodone, our Acting Deputy Chief Education Officer, Ms. Giannetti George, EO for Camdou, especially invited guests from the DPS, Ministry of Tourism, Ms. and Margaret Adams, and Ms. Sherilyn Monroe Gustave from the Department of Public Sector Modernization, other heads of departments, staff of the Ministry of Education, the listening public, those who are here in person and those who are listening to us on social media. Welcome and thank you for joining us this morning. I wish to welcome all of you to this, our first Open Air National Creativity and Innovation Symposium, being held and rightly so on World Creativity and Innovation Day. For us at the Department of Education, Innovation and Vocational Training, this presents an awesome opportunity to engage the public on matters relating to innovation and the work of our unit. Today's symposium should appeal to everyone who has an idea that they think can address a gap or solve a problem. It should ignite a burning within persons who think new things and the people who do new things. It should challenge people who think and do new things to monetize their thoughts and their ideas. And for those who believe that they do not fall into either of these categories, an appreciation for the work of others and a support for the endeavors is anticipated. The Department of Innovation has crafted a symposium which will appeal to a broad demographic. There is something here for everyone. Our three panels will discuss matters of interest to the public service, the private sector and the youth. You will listen as our very well-informed panel will be sharing varying perspectives of matters on matters innovation and creativity. But really, why dedicate any time to creativity and innovation? If you really think about it, you would realize that a world without either would be rather boring and homogenous in its drabness. Everything would be the same. Everyone would hold the same views and opinions. No one would challenge the status quo. The notion of thinking outside the box so that there is no box would never exist. However, we're happy that it does. As thinking that there is no box is what allows for the solving of problems through unique solutions. Innovation and creativity are not limited to creating tangible things, but can also be reflected in the re-engineering of processes that facilitate greater efficiencies, thereby saving businesses time and money while increasing profits and customer retention. Innovation is therefore great for business. It should, however, never be seen as an act only to solve the problems of businesses or concept that is driven strictly by the internet or technology. We can be innovative in the simplest of things. You may very well find that while you're looking to solve a personal problem, your solution can also work for many others who experience similar challenges and that's when innovation becomes exciting. The business that has re-engineered its process will not share that strategy with another as it now becomes proprietary knowledge and that gives it a competitive advantage. The individual who has developed a product or service that solves a problem gets the opportunity to monetize this idea and become entrepreneurial in his own right. The theme for World Creativity and Innovation Day, Step Out and Innovate, is really a call to action and that's why we were here in Constitution Park, appealing to our listeners here and outside of this space those listening to us online. The Department of Education Innovation Vocational Training is throwing out a challenge to all of you. We challenge you to identify a problem, create a unique solution, then come and speak to us at the Department of Innovation. Let us assist you and point you in the right direction for commercializing your idea. We work alongside many public and private sector agencies and we can get you the assistance you need. During this symposium, you will get the opportunity to view a few short videos of persons who took the chance, who stepped out and innovated. Some have found solutions to international problems, other solutions in the field of agriculture, in the marine sector, the meteor, and even in tows. Today, we are looking for the next generation of creatives and innovators. And so, I appeal to all of you to get into that orange zone and step out and innovate. I cannot close without placing on record my immense gratitude to Ms. Linnell Mauser, the Director of Innovation and her team for pulling together this significant event. This setup is amazing and the weather is definitely cooperating. My appreciation is also extended to Ms. Delphia Nitrom, the Education Officer of the TVET unit and a creative in her own right for sharing, free of charge, the design which is splashed across our shoots. This is authentically ours. Friends, colleagues, and well-wishers, remember the appeal. The challenge is on. Step out and innovate. Thank you. Thank you very much, PS Charles. Step out and innovate. That's what it's all about. And Albert Einstein said, creativity is intelligence, having fun. Are you intelligent? Do you like to have fun like Miss Nature? Miss Nature, by the way, I'm loving this. I'm loving this. I already see where to go for my next events. I would just like to thank you, PS Charles, for helping organize this and especially I see some young ladies taking advantage of our standing photo booth. You can go right behind it, put your head through the hole and you get a lovely picture. And of course, the only cost to taking out that picture is when you upload it on Facebook, Instagram, all the other social medias, Makone Tut. You put hashtag 758 innovate or hashtag 758 creative. With that, you were told about some video presentations. Now, I want to keep you in a little bit of suspense still. So since I'm to keep you in a little bit of suspense, I am not going to have the video presentation yet. However, we have a young man, a special speaker here. And again, PS spoke about the next generation of innovators. So with that, I don't want to tell you more because I have a special gentleman who's going to come and introduce him. I'd like to introduce Mr. Richard Maxwell, who's one of our ITC officers, Mr. Maxwell, to do the introduction. Help me welcome Mr. Maxwell. Isn't he looking lovely in his orange? If he's looking lovely in the orange and design, clap louder than that. Thank you very much. Mr. Maxwell, take it away. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the National Symposium on Creative and Innovation. This is the first event of its kind and one of that we hope will become a staple in the innovation agenda. Events such as these are hosted globally as part of World Creativity and Innovation Day, which is celebrated officially on April 21st. It is my pleasure to introduce Mr. Dinell Florius who has graciously accepted our invitation to deliver the keynote address. Mr. Florius is a highly accomplished individual in the field of renewable energy and green technology. He's a tenacious career businessman with a passion for renewable energy and green technology. He originates from the Caribbean island of St. Glacier and is a co-founder of a green technology group, energy company called EcoCarib. The company specializes in green energy services and has created a one-stop shop for getting your access to affordable solar electricity through customized online platforms which integrate energy management, solar energy, battery technology, electric vehicle charging and financing systems. To date, the French green technology group operates in seven territories, has developed over 3M of distributed solar electricity systems and runs a public electricity vehicle charging network of 1,000 stations. Dinell is a director at the Alliance for Green Innovation and Technology which is a local association whose mission is to catalyze the adoption of the green economy in St. Glacier. He has a dedicated, he has dedicated of experience, decade sorry, of experience and is recognized both regionally and internationally for making a massive dent in the green energy space. Dinell emerged a winner of the OECS 30 on the 30 in entrepreneurship initiative launched in 2016 to March 2017. His dream is to transition the Caribbean region to a sustainable greener future through green tech innovation. An exemplary young man and a luminary of his time. He has also been invited by the World Bank in Spain as the keynote speaker on creativity and innovation in May 2023. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. Dinell Floreus. Thank you. Okay, good day everyone. I would like to adopt the protocol established and I would like to thank you all for being here today and for actually taking a step to making your dreams a reality. I would like to tell you a story, a story about a dreamer. This dreamer went to school in St. Lucia like many of us. They went through the primary level, the secondary level and the tertiary level. While it's going to school, they found their interests. They found that they had a knack for certain areas, certain subjects which really sparked them to move in that direction. As they continued on their journey, they realized that there were certain problems that they constantly faced. There were certain issues that needed solving. They really wanted to make a difference and they were wondering why other people were not solving this issue. So they embarked upon a journey. They picked this problem and they decided to actually make a difference. They spoke to their friends, their family members, their aunts, their uncles, their cousins, their neighbors and asked them, why haven't you tried to solve this problem? What have you done to try to solve this problem? This was their data gathering stage. And at that point, they got certain feedback from these people. With equipped with this feedback, they now wanted to put everything together. They spent many, many sleepless nights analyzing data, going through stacks and stacks of paper, writing ideas out and they came up with a solution. This solution would really make a difference in not just their lives, but the lives of every single member of their community. Now, they ask themselves, what do they need to build out this innovative solution? And by asking themself, what do they need? The question of who do they need popped up as well. In that, they presented their solution to a slew of people and out of these numbers, one person came out and this person actually complimented the first dreamer. And this person became their co-founder. One had now become two. These two dreamers continued the journey. They embarked upon a process of building out their solution, but guess what? They didn't have the money to do so. So to raise money, they spoke to their friends and family members to try to convince them to invest in their crazy idea. Some family members invested, some did not. Some said, yes, I'll get back to you, but never did. But they continued anyway. They used this initial investment to build out the first version of their project, which is called the Minimum Viable Product. And with this MVP for short, they presented it to the slew of people that they spoke to initially to get their feedback again. But at this stage, they needed to build this solution a lot quicker because people had now shown interest and they needed to execute. So they needed to raise more money. They scoured the internet for opportunities, both local and regional, and came across some grants that the government of St. Lucia had available. They applied and they got access to some more money to build out their solution. With this money, they now were equipped to execute on their dream. They continued their journey and they realized that St. Lucia was just one small market in the Caribbean region. And for them to be as sustainable as possible, they wanted to solve this issue for not just St. Lucia's, but people in the Caribbean region and the wider world. But to do so, guess what? They needed more money. So they now reached out to every single person that they could find involving the industry, not just in St. Lucia, but throughout the region around the world. This took them to participate in different events, pitch competitions from Hawaii to Europe, the US, and they met investors, they met mentors, they met people who were interested in supporting this dream and supporting this solution to help it be solved. By measuring what they wanted to achieve, they now knew exactly who in their network to target to really get everything that they needed. They went through the OECS and they happened to forge a relationship with an investor who believed in them. The dream came after, but just because they had taken the initiative to step out, to pursue, and to try to solve something that was very important to their society, the investor believed in them and wrote a check to get them to that next level. Now equipped with money from that investor, they built out their solution and started solving the problem for not just their local community, but the regional market. At this stage, things have scaled. It has gone from one to two dreamers to now a team of over 50 people. This team has grown and this culture of the team has also equipped every single one of them to be a dreamer themselves, because it's not just about you having a vision and driving it to solve a problem. It's about how many lives can you impact? How many lives can you change? How many people can you encourage to also be dreamers and to act on their dreams? This was my story as well. And I went through this process and it was really, really hard. It was not an easy one. It took a lot of patience. It took a lot of sleepless nights. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, literally. But here I stand today, being your keynote speaker at this innovation event. We live in a very special time, a time where we have access to the world from our smartphones. And we have to take full advantage of the technology that we have at our fingertips, because just years ago, the power that you have in your smartphone that you hold in your hand today, it took an entire room. Think of it. Think of an entire 40-foot container to power something that you have in your hand today. You have to take advantage of social media, which these dreamers did. And they looked at social media, not just as something to post to their friends, but something to find opportunities. So they didn't just follow other people's business. They followed the pages that were of interest to them, their industry, and would help them to network with the right people to get this solution off the ground. And by moving forward with this type of initiative, they moved into an innovative solution. Right now, we live in a very special time with the introduction of artificial intelligence. And we live in an age where in the next decade, we will make as much progress as we have made in the past century. And you are now standing at the cusp of history. So it's up to you to decide what innovative project, what solution will you continue to pursue to make a difference in not just your life, but the life of every single person around you and around the world. You are only limited by your mindset. You are only limited by how big you think. Whether you want a $5 million idea, a $100 million idea, or a billion dollar one, the only limitation is your thought. Once you think it, you can achieve it. Elon Musk said that being an entrepreneur is like chewing glass and staring into the abyss. And I know that's kind of dark, but it's the reality. And that is why it is very important for you to love what you are pursuing. Because it's this love and this passion that will keep you going through difficult times, times when people have turned away from you, times when people laugh at you, times when people say, oh, he'll never make it, or she'll never make it. It's this passion and love that keeps you motivated to work through these issues, to work through the problems that you face daily, the highs and lows of business, the highs and lows of dealing with different realms of politicians, or of different people in the marketplace, the stresses that you may will encounter. It's your love and passion, which will... To invent is to design and create from scratch. Meanwhile, innovation is people using their imagination, experience, curiosity, instincts, and relationships to develop and implement ideas that they value. Fortunately, innovation is the fuel of our future. New products, services, and markets. But it isn't just the next best thing. Innovation is about people working within a philosophy of continuous improvement and change. In St. Lucia, some key people stand out who have married ingenuity to commercial viability. Jameson Alfonso is the owner of Greenhaven Fresh Farm, an organic integrated farm that specializes in vegetables, freshwater fish, and shrimp. The farm consists of an aquaconic system supported by an 80,000 gallon rainwater harvesting system, three greenhouses, and an open field production. In 2017, this innovation won him the Green Award, the Idea of the Year Award, and the Prime Minister's Award for Innovation. Sagasan is a stinky old problem which aligns the East Coast negatively impacting the tourism and fishing industry. It took Joanne and Dujon, a young St. Lucia, to dream up a commercially viable solution to fight invasive seaweed threatening the tourism-dependent economy. Algas Organics converts Sagasan into fungicides, pesticides, and crop fertilizers. Algas has processed over 2 million pounds of seaweed since 2015. This innovator exemplifies the formula. Invention plus entrepreneurship equals innovation plus new knowledge. So everybody loves a good time. But the COVID-19 pandemic redefined the logistics of fun. Enter 758 excursions. They created a market for people eager to explore the island in a safe space. 18 purposely modified SUVs for guests on mobile parties, riverlines, private picnics, and overnight camping estates. 758 excursions truly demonstrates the formula of innovation in new market disruption. Where a company creates and claims a new segment of an existing market by catering to an underserved customer base, slowly improving in quality until incumbent businesses' services are obsolete or they catch up. On the other hand, low-end disruption innovation is where a company uses a low-cost business model to enter the bottom of an existing market and claim a segment. Karl Augustine's vanilla vying concept and high-value sales illustrates this in a bushy St. Lucian context. One of St. Lucian's best-known innovators is Kallis Noelle, the fisherman from Labry. Through an extensive process of trial and error, he designed and built the world's only solar power desalinator. His invention was shipped across the globe to Nauru, a small island in the Pacific, to solve their portable water challenges. His company's called Invictus and it validates the tenets of sustaining innovation, in which a company creates better products to sell for higher profits to its best customers. His latest creation is the Magellan, a multi-sensor autonomous unmanned surface vessel that will be able to transmit maritime information in real time to different stakeholders to assist in shaping policies for climate change adaptation. The innovation division was established in 2017 and forms part of the Ministry of Education, Sustainable Development, Science, Technology and Vocational Training. Its mandate is to encourage St. Lucian's to harness their creativity to develop products, services and ideas sufficiently to a commercial standard and importantly, to monetize it. Towards the establishment of a working innovation management framework as part of the National Competitiveness Agenda, the draft Science, Technology and Innovation Policy and Framework has been proposed. This policy outlines the actions and decisions of interventions to be taken by the government to promote the generation, diffusion and deployment of new goods, processes and business models. World Creativity and Innovation Day is observed every year on April 21st to create greater awareness for the importance of creativity and innovation in all aspects of human development. Creativity and innovation are also vital in achieving the sustainable development goals set out by the UN. Though both terms are often used interchangeably, creativity and innovation are distinct concepts that work hand in hand to achieve the desired end. Together to develop something creative and innovative special thanks to the communications units of the Department of Education as well as the innovation unit for putting this video together. What is now approved was once imagined. This is what we are told by William Blake. What is now approved was once imagined. We once imagined this day and it has come together because of you who are present here and with that, I would just like to invite Ms. Malte to just specially recognize a few individuals who have helped make this opening ceremony extra special. Now you see the nice little bags there? We have a whole day of events and if you stick around, you just might get one too because remember, creativity is about giving and sharing. So Ms. Malte, please join me as we give some special tokens to the special people, not under the tent yet but those on the stage. So we have, we'd like to call Tim, I'm sorry, and let me pronounce the gentleman's name properly, yeah? Denel Florius. And he deserved that name, learned that name because he's an innovator, a mover shaker. Mr. Florius, do you mind please coming up for your bag? Round of applause please. Next we have Tim Pellet-Louisey. We have the lady herself, P.S. Michelle Charles. And last but by no means least, Reverend Addy. Now I practiced the name so much and now it almost slipped me. Reverend Kwame Addy. Gemfie, Gemfie, I got it, right sir? Gemfie. Now you've heard me speaking a lot and you know this is about, we're about to round off the opening ceremony but there's a lot more to come. So to help me with the vote of thanks because there are so many people, so many people, some among you, some behind the scenes still who made this event possible. Help me welcome Ms. Janela Charles. And remember to stand by, stay tuned, keep coming in because this is a whole day of activities. Thank you very much. Good afternoon everyone. Oh, it's morning? Yeah, I'm hungry. Okay, I'd like to, I am Janela Charles and I've been appointed the greatest responsibility to deliver the vote of thanks and to express appreciation. Such a manifest and important event cannot be fruitful without the contribution of many individuals, organization and entities. We have to give thanks to the Almighty for gracing us with such spectacular sunny weather. We are grateful to our minister, Honorable Sean Edwards, for his constant support and to the initiative and by extension, the innovation division under the leadership Ms. Linnell Mazer and her team. I say thank you to the Impolite Louise on her earliest proponent to creativity and innovation for her remarks. And to Ms. Michelle Charles, our permanent secretary for endorsement and support for this venture. A special thank you to the Nell Flavius, Flavius, that's correct, for the keynote address. We are all blessed by our innovation and delivered by Reverend Kwame Adi Jeffy. And most grateful, heartfelt thank you and appreciation goes to the innovation division, spectacularly the attendants at the Innovation and Career Development Center, Islandwide, who work hard daily to give support and their talent. We say thank you to the moderators, Dinelle Dubois, Jesse Leo, Esther Matthew, who will traffic the discuss of the day and keep us on track. And of course, all the panellists Glenn Simon, Ms. Gustave, Ms. Esther St. Amy, Ms. Dr. Louise Felix, Louise Victor, Miguel Edwin, Empress Rhonda Ithope, Simon Griffiths Francis, Nyla Marius, Randizia Charles, Ms. James and Gracie Alcide, who will be participating during the course of the day. Thank you for our repertoire, Ms. Constance Hrenny. A special thank you, a special thank you to our team for bringing this activity and viewers in the virtual land Ms. Filmer Chalry and Kashima Desi for the publication, Ms. Delta Natrium for the artwork on the t-shirt and the secretaries of admin in the Department of Education. Gratitude goes to the innovation, name Nick Ellis, Laura Noel, Ms. Ferdinand, Ms. Sidney Randall, Dale Elliot, Steven Felix, 758 Adventures. Thank you to the ministers and parliamentary reps from our system ministry who grace us with their presence. Thank you to the staff and various ministries and in particular from the Education Department, Department of Education. We are grateful to Shomak Designs and even to bring this venture to life. Doesn't the venue look lovely? Thank you to the sound technicians, the porters, the drivers who assisted in preparing this venue. So after Louis Community College for using their equipment to the media houses, our social media platforms for carrying and promoting our, especially the independent film company. Shout out to the member of the public who stepped by and to all creativity and innovations around the world. I apologize to anyone I have failed to mention by contributing towards the success of world creativity and innovation, public symposium under the theme, step out and innovate. Thank you to the moon. Thank you to Shai Majanella Charles, Kuiolma Stila Timiette. Ladies and gentlemen, that brings a close to our welcome, our opening ceremony. The day continues with numerous panel discussions. We have one panel discussion on governance processes and services. What does innovation mean to me? We have another panel discussion on innovation. It's our business. On this panel discussion, we have for instance, Louis Victor. We have Miguel Edwin Ronda Itopa, Miss Signagreeves. In the afternoon, we have another session, a future of creatives. What does innovation again mean to me? On this we have some of our young folks from the NYC, as well as the Caribbean Youth Environmental Network. So those of you who have the time stick around. If you have to do something, you can step out a while, but please return and join in the activities. For now, we have some special treats for our specially invited guests. You are invited to the town hall. But before your journey there, I just want to remind you, we have the most beautiful standing booth, the most creative by far, right here to my left. It says, I am creative. Feel free to snap a photo. If you snap a photo, remember, the only price you have to pay is to upload it in place. Hashtag, let me hear what you have to put. Seven five eight. Massa Tonsa. Hashtag seven five eight. Or hashtag seven five eight. Thank you so much. Those of you viewing online, remember you are welcome to come in person. It's a lovely day, a sunny day. Come get your vitamin D and let us celebrate world creativity and innovation day. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for attending our opening ceremony. Please join us in the town hall for a few eats, the specially invited guests and the rest of you stand by moist to come. Have a wonderful day. Thank you. Word up. Welcome to the second semifinal of the Word of Poetry Slam, organized by the Hunter Jifis War Library at the South Lewis Community College. The first semifinals, so eight poets from various units.