 Welcome to the NTN Nightly. I'm Nisha Charles. This edition stops stories. A national symposium lays the foundation for a new tourism strategy for St. Lucia. St. Lucia prepares to host the 40th meeting of the Conference of Heads of Characum, the architectural section of physical planning, poise to build a modern St. Lucia, all that plus the latest in youth development, sports, and the NTN Nouvelle Arquéon. St. Lucia is seeking to develop a new tourism strategy. As part of that process, the Ministry of Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries is hosting a two-day national symposium on tourism under the OECS Regional Tourism Competitiveness Project. The event is being held under the theme New Directions for Tourism in St. Lucia. Janelle Norville tells us more. The Ministry of Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries is hosting a two-day symposium under the theme New Directions for Tourism in St. Lucia. The symposium, according to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Aviva Sinclair, is geared towards fulfilling the development of a tourism strategy for the island. The Ministry undertook a meticulous process of selecting a partner in Kiosk Consulting with a proven track record of developing tourism plans and strategies with an emphasis on sustainability and practicality and I'd like to welcome Mr. Nizet and thank him for the work that he's done with us so far. Our discussions with Kiosk have been centered on identifying no more than eight critical areas for action and let me ensure you that we will put the input that you give us today to good use to determine the best positioning for the industry given the trends and developments within the sector. Permanent Secretary noted that the Ministry of Tourism is working with the Cass Street City Council to provide matching grants to improving the facade of the city buildings. The Ministry has also engaged consultants to provide designs to improve sidewalks within the city and the William Peter Boulevard. Work has also commenced with the Ministry of Infrastructure for the procurement of equipment to repair traffic lights to better manage traffic flow in Cass Street. Minister for Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries, Honourable Dominic Fede, indicated that while the plan is to move forward, St. Dusha's tourism industry remains hindered. There is a big shortage of data so that policy makers can make informed decisions so that they can effectively measure the impact of tourism on the rank and file on the local economy. I think we can see with our naked eyes that something is wrong with the structure, that something is wrong with the level of impact that we're all looking for. But I believe that when we complete the tourism satellite account, one of the things we will find out is that tourism is impacting our lives more than we can imagine. Guest Speaker Vincent van der Poel Wallis and well-known tourism luminary shared some insight into the tourism industry. Thank you very much for sharing the documents with me in terms of what you've been thinking about and what you've been wanting to do in terms of bridging the gap between where you were in 2013 and what you said you want to do and where you are today. The good news, I think, as Carolyn just said, is that quite frankly, in many respects what you are complaining about, you are in a much better position than many other places in this region. So you have nothing to be ashamed of in terms of the quality of the product that you have. The bad news is that very little seems to have moved since the last time you took a look at it. And the even worse news, quite frankly, is that almost everybody in this region is becoming more and more dependent on tourism. So when we start talking about what it is we need to do, we need to recognize that we are now asking this sector of the economy to do a great deal more than it's ever done before. When you start looking at agriculture, what is happening in financial services, you begin to see that tourism, no fault of its own, is becoming more and more important in terms of delivering all the value that minister talked about regarding the schools and the roads, etc. So tourism now becomes something that's extraordinarily increasing in importance. The symposium is being facilitated by Keo's Development Consulting, an Italian-based firm with global experience in the area of tourism development and is being held under the OECS Regional Tourism Competitiveness Project, a six-year development initiative funded by the World Bank. For the Government Information Service, I am General Norville. The 40th regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Governments of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, will be held in St. Lucia from the 3rd to the 5th of July 2019. Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister, the Honourable Alan M. Shasne, who will assume the chairmanship of the Conference from the 1st of July to the 31st of December 2019. Herald in the meeting will be the annual CARICOM 10K Road Race from Rodney Bay to Castries on Sunday 30th June 2019. The event will showcase the Caribbean's top long-distance runners and includes a 5K run walk from Maricill for secondary school students and a 1K for CARICOM diplomats and other dignitaries from Vibhutay. Members of the public are invited to show their support for the road races, which start from 6am on that day. Interested persons and groups can register at the Department of Youth and Sports to participate in the CARICOM 10K Road Race. The 19th meeting of the Council on Finance and Planning will be held on July 3rd ahead of the official opening ceremony for the CARICOM meeting, which starts at 4pm and will be broadcasted and streamed live. Governments' heads of governments will meet in Plenary and Caucus from the 4th for the 5th of July to deliberate on matters related to the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, CSME, and Crime and Security in the region. Representatives from various government departments are now trained in gender-responsive budgeting. This as the Department of Gender Relations continues to roll out its gender mainstreaming project. The project aims to address some of the deficiencies that were highlighted in the CDB country assessment in 2011. Among them, gender imbalances, poor education achievement for men, inadequate employment and training, and high incidences of single parents. Project coordinator Claudia Louis says this will allow participants to put a gender perspective on their budgets moving forward. Gender budgeting is just one aspect of the whole gender mainstreaming project. It is the first aspect because we look at it from the perspective that if this is a government policy, the budgeting must also follow the policy. So when various departments are preparing their budgets come September, October, they would have been trained here to have that gender perspective, the gender lens, that they look over every project that they are submitting and see in what way is any gender being disadvantaged and how can they compensate for that in their budget. Partnering with the Department of Gender Relations to execute the project is Niagara College Professor Anna Androsic facilitated the workshop. We were hoping to start early initially with the gender budgeting specifically for the purpose to be able to incorporate some pilot gender budgeting in one, two, or three ministries if they can assess what happens now with their budgets and where gaps exist, where the missing space to incorporate gender budgeting, it will help us even through this year's budgeting cycle or planning for next year to incorporate some gender budgeting, some do reanalyzing, repurposing and influence decision makers to have our pilot gender budgeting in early enough in the project. What we could do later throughout the ten month project we can train trainers to have St. Lucian experience for the country for sharing with other Caribbean countries and internationally and purposely engage ministry of finance in the process. A team of experts were in St. Lucia for their inception mission in May where they engaged in training exercises for officers of the Department of Gender Relations and public servants in various ministries, departments and agencies on gender analysis and gender inclusion in development planning. And this is the NTN Knightley. Ryan O'Brien is up next. When the authority of the heads of government of the OECS and its other ministerial councils meet and adopt policies for the organization they rely on the OECS commission to transform these into action. The OECS commission is the secretariat of the organization where the shipping of officials headed by a director general mandated to implement the decisions of the governments but also empowered to make recommendations on the strategic directions of the organization. The OECS commission organizes meetings, prepares budgets, conducts research, undertakes projects, negotiates for and represents the OECS member states. It is organized along several components. There are the commissioners from each member state and the director general form the commission that oversees the work programs. There are also technical divisions with specialized units between them as well as diplomatic missions in Brussels and Geneva. All these complement each other to make the OECS commission the engine of regional integration in the eastern Caribbean. The OECS has a proud past and together we are working towards a brighter future for all our citizens. For more information visit www.oecs.org Welcome back. We join Ryan O'Brien for the latest happenings in youth development and sports. Thanks, Inisha. Welcome everyone to your update from the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports on the NTN Nightly News. I'm Ryan O'Brien. The 2019 Inter-School Sports Awards is fast approaching. Today we give you a preview of the categories of awards that will be up for grabs when the awards are held on Friday at the St. Mary's College Auditorium starting from 10 a.m. Individual awards Inter-District Primary Schools Athletics Inter-Schools Track and Field Mass United Insurance Cricket Inter-Schools Under 15 Cricket Inter-Schools Table Tennis Inter-District Primary Schools Table Tennis Team Championship Awards Inter-District Primary Schools Athletics Inter-Schools Track and Field Inter-Schools Under 19 Big 8 Basketball Inter-Schools Under 15 Cricket Mass United Under 19 Cricket Inter-Schools Under 19 Big 8 Football Inter-Schools Under 19 Division 2 Football Inter-Schools Netball Inter-Schools Table Tennis Boys and Girls Runners for the 14th Cardicom 10K will begin arriving here on Friday for the event to be held on Sunday, June 30th. The Cardicom Secretariat has released the official entries per member country to date. From Antigua Barbuda, Stephanie Hughes, Carlique Saint-Jean, Barbados, Carly Pope, Micah Stewart, Dominica, Neria Cuffee, and Jonathan Dawson Celestine. Grenada, Carisha Mary Pascal, and Tyrone Josiah Jacobs. Jamaica, Anisha Brianna Lawrence, and Dean Hugh Tomlin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Linda McDowell, and Junior Ashton Suriname. You'll see the Tomer, and Jannick Pomba, and from Anguilla, Justin Mario Hodge. This is Cardicom Run, will include the 10K, a 5K, and a 1K component. All three distances start simultaneously at 7.30am. And that's your update from Youth Development and Sports for today. I'm Ryan O'Brien. Thanks, Ryan. As the Government of St. Lucia celebrates the contribution and dedication of public servants to national development through Public Service Week, Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources, and Cooperatives, Honourable Herod Stanislas, has applauded the architectural section in physical planning. Minister Stanislas says the unit is staffed with design talent for the building of a modern St. Lucia. General No Available Reports. Unsung heroes of the architectural section of the Department of Physical Planning have been bestowed the highest of praises. Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources, and Cooperatives, Honourable Herod Stanislas, indicated that the section has been delivering a high quality of work and commended the men and women of the section on their continued dedication. The Minister, highlighting the section's work on the old Trafford complex in Souffre, indicated that he has been amazed with the work produced. My Department of Physical Planning is made up of about six or seven sections. One of them is the architecture section, which is one of the best sections, a section that I love in the department. You know, the architects, they do a wonderful job, the chief architect and his team of men and women, and they are currently supervised and implementing the old Trafford project in Souffre, the first phase. This is ongoing. This should be completed by the end of June, and I'm very proud of the work which they put into this project. When it is completed, people will actually see what this department does on a daily basis. Members of Cabinet, along with the executives of the Castries Constituency Council and staff of the Department of Physical Planning got a first hand tour of the progress of the old Trafford complex. Phase one of the project includes the construction of a central bus terminal and the farmers market. Minister Stanislas explained that the architectural section is also working on a number of other projects. They've also put some concepts for Minister Fede for the Ancelere Waterfront redevelopment. They're currently working on a redevelopment concept for Grozile for Minister Motut. And we have been down to Shwezel to look at the Shwezel village, the waterfront for Minister Felix, Bradley Felix. So the guys are very busy downstairs working to enhance and transform the landscape of this country to create opportunities and empowerment of our people. So I'm very proud of the work of the architecture section. They have been provided with many resources to get the job done and I will continue to support them as the Minister in the department and hope that other ministries and other agencies could gravitate towards the architecture section and help in some of the buildings and the architecture works which we are going to be doing in the country. The planning department's mandate is to ensure the sustainable improvement in the quality of life of all inclusions through effective integrated planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of physical, spatial, technological, economic, environmental and social development activities. For the Government Information Service I am General Norvel. And stay with the NTN Nightly. Up next, Primers Hutchinson is here with the NTN Nouvelle Enquire. Pamela, I noticed that you built your retaining wall on my property. You will have to give me my land back or compensate me for that. My contractor isn't dumb. I trust that he will not build anything on your property. Where is your proof? Let's go to court. This situation does not require you to go to court. Looks like we have to go through mediation here. Mediation is a way people resolve conflicts like this. Someone, a third party comes to speak to both parties. This person is called the mediator. The mediator is impartial. He or she makes sure that communication between both parties is effective and efficient. So, the mediator is a judge? No, the mediator is not a judge. Mediators, unlike judges, do not decide cases or impose settlements. Let me get a mediator to handle this retaining wall and that kitchen. Kitchen? Yes, your kitchen also falls on my land. Let me call the mediator. Welcome back. We join Primers Hutchinson for the NTN Nouvelle Enquire. Thank you so much, Nisha. Thank you, Madam Department of the University of Sabilite for the information on government settlements GIS as well as the National Television of NTN for the Nouvelle Enquire and for Primers Hutchinson. His head of organization, Curricum, has been working on this settlement since July 3 for the CEC. He has been working on this settlement since July 1 for the CEC. He has been working on this settlement since July 1 for the refer's for the CEC starting July 3 from 24 alles and since July 3 also for the CEC. in the community. The the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the and the ambassadors of this place to discuss these new games and which will be more effective for us today. The ambassador of the ROC, which is in the session and the media, on the 12th of July. Guancourt-François-Lars, who is facing the public, started on the 4th of July, on the 3rd of July. The OECS Organization Commission, under management for education development. I have put a lot of effort into the development of four countries and we have done a lot of education. We have done a project to support education since 2016. The project that costed US$2 million is to review these instruments that have served you to measure the performance of the principal of the school and also to develop a program specifically for the head of education in the city of Caribbean and to review a special book for the elementary school. The OECS Organization for Education Development gave me the opportunity to meet with the majority to know the certification in the language of the country. This is what Kendall Coudreau did, to assist the French Salar. With Coudreau, the Salar initiative I did a good job to make the OECS give education to the same country as the Salar and to all these leaders, well-occupied, head of education in the past, Minister of Education, Madam Fortuna Anthony, addressed these participants for the task of transforming the world in the position of the country. Madam Anthony told me, if you don't want to serve knowledge to push others forward, then it's better to give this Salar knowledge to Coyoyon because you want Coyoyon to know. Madam Fortuna Anthony, we know that this is a good quality, we know that this is a good quality to have when the head of the Salar is able to pass knowledge to your people. This government gave Coyoyon's sector a critical role because it has done a great project to help the business of the Salar. This is why the Salar has made an effort to establish a resistance to the climate change and to enable the OECS to do so. This is why Coyoyon has made its development system to enable the business of John Compton to establish a meeting to place the OECS and the people to serve the Salar. This is also the starting point to be able to provide the Salar to the family, to the workers, to the service providers and contractors to form an established system to provide the Salar. This is also why the OECS is working to help the business especially in this capacity to enable the employees to serve the Salar not like in the last year we were able to provide the Salar for the OECS and we were able to enable the system to have the Salar for the business of the Salar This is why Coyon has put a lot of fun in it And here's a look at what's happening to us weather-wise. Moisture and instability associated with an approaching tropical wave will affect the Lesser Antilles from tonight into tomorrow. This wave is surrounded by Saharan dust which is limiting cloud and shower development. A second tropical wave located over the central tropical Atlantic is moving westward at about 17 miles per hour or 28 kilometers per hour. Tropical cyclone formation is not expected over the tropical Atlantic during the next five days. The tide for Castries Harbour was low at 4.23 pm and will be high again at 10.59 pm. The tide for Vier 4 Bay was low at 5.50 pm and will be high again at 12.06 am. The sea is moderate to locally rough with waves 4 to 7 feet or 1.2 to 2.1 meters. Small craft operators and sea bathers are advised to exercise caution due to above normal seas and reduced visibility. The sun will rise Thursday at 5.38 am. And that brings us to the end of the NTN Nightly. Join us next time at 7 pm with a repeat at 7 am. You can also catch up with us any time on the Saint Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I'm Nisha Trials.