Radavie Welch, Most Impactful Speaker and Winner in the Juniors Category of the 15th Annual Frederick Smith Secondary School Speech Competition, receiving her prizes from Leslie Lett, Head of the English Department.
Kanedra Morgan, winner of the First Year Speak-Off, receiving her prizes from First Form Year Head, Lincoln Nelson.
Winner in the Senior’s Category of the 15th Annual Frederick Smith Secondary School Speech Competition, Arianna Forde receiving her prizes from Principal, Major Michael Boyce.
Creating more opportunities for young people would be one of the priorities of Radavie Welch if she had the opportunity to lead this country.
“My heart aches for our young people,” the winner in the Juniors Category of the 15th Annual Frederick Smith Secondary School Speech Competition expressed, while speaking on the topic “If you were Prime Minister for the day, what policies would you implement?”
“I wonder why are they fighting and killing each other? They are fighting and killing each other when they could be making a name for themselves, and supporting their parents instead of having their parents support them.”
Winner in the Senior’s Category, Arianna Forde spoke on the topic “Medical Marijuana: Legalise it or Nah?” making her position clear from off the bat, “Yes, legalise it, but for medical purposes.”
However, she also stressed that more research needs to be carried out.
“I strongly believe that medical marijuana can be beneficial and Barbados should take the initiative to be the first Caribbean country to legalise it for medicinal use. We can market ourselves as a medical tourism destination. A medical board can be formed to regulate and control suppliers and users. Special greenhouses can be constructed for cultivation of the plant and a special Identification (ID) card can be issued to pharmacists, patients and caregivers to access the marijuana,” she said.
Kanedra Morgan has the remedy to stop students from littering at the Trent’s St. James school. The winner of the First Year Speak-Off, spoke on “Garbage, Garbage, Everywhere: What are we doing to stop this at our school?”
“We can punish students who litter; place more garbage cans around the premises, and reward students who keep their surroundings clean,” she proposed, adding “If students are caught littering, they should be made to clean the area, receive detention or call their parents to speak about the littering.”
Senator Dr. Romel Springer, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training commended the English Department for sustaining the speech competition, and encouraged students to embrace the opportunity to express themselves.
“I want to challenge you to see this event as more than just a school competition. I want you to see this right to speak; this freedom of speech as something that we this country all take for granted – especially young people,” he said, sharing the story of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who survived being shot in the head by a Taliban gunman for speaking up in favour of girls’ education.
“I want each and every one of you to realise that you have a voice, you have something to say and you need to be heard. I want you to understand that this competition can be vehicle to transport you to your next platform”.
“I want you to realise that what you have to say can propel you into advocating or even agitating for issues that affect you not only right now, but issues that will affect you later in life,” the Senator said. (TL)