Rich tradition, resilience, educational excellence – reasons to celebrate being Dominican says guest speaker at youth rally

 

Annika Bellot

Environmental lawyer, Annika Bellot, has highlighted several key aspects in Dominica that should be celebrated with “great pride and enthusiasm”.

Bellot was the Youth Speaker at this year’s National Youth Rally held at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium this week.

“As we celebrate Dominica, we must also celebrate the traditions that make us who we are, the vibrant music to include calypso, cadence and AM to PM Bouyon, the delicious cuisine, the colourful cultural modern dances,” she said.

She mentioned the youth of Dominica as the torchbearers of the future and asserted that they deserve to be celebrated for their potential and unwavering determination.

“The energy and creativity of our young people drives progress and innovation in our country,” Bellot stated. “As we celebrate Dominica, let us also celebrate the brilliant minds and dreams of our youth and continue to create an environment that helps you thrive across various industries.”

She also made reference to the Kalinago people and their resilience in preserving Dominica’s tradition.

“They are an integral part of our national identity, reminding us of the significance of our island’s original habitants,” he noted.

Bellot continued, “AS we celebrate today with our first female President, a Kalinago woman herself, let us recognize the pivotal role of the Kalinago in our history and society today.”

She described Dominica as a land of traditions and customs.

“The diversity of our people is a source of strength and resilience,” she noted. “We celebrate our unity in diversity as it is a testament of our ability to live together in harmony and embrace the richness of our differences.”

Among the richness of the country’s Kalinago Heritage, she said Dominica is a melting pot of culture, religion, and traditions.

“Let us never forget how we united after Tropical Storm Erika and Hurricane Maria,” Bellot said.

Furthermore. Bellot said despite Dominica’s political or religious beliefs or any differences among us, “we are always Dominicans.”

“Our various cultures and backgrounds, from the Kalinago to the afro-Caribbean, we are blended to create a unique Dominica identity that should be celebrated with pride,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Octavia Alfred called on the youth to make a decision today to embrace all opportunities to develop and showcase their contribution, talent, and skills. Additionally, she said there has been improvement in national and regional assessment. Dominica performed above the regional average in CSEC /CXC exams.

“Thirty-four students received 6 one’s and above and our national average stands at 75 percent,” Alfred revealed. “We await the final results on a later date when the review is over.”

Performances came from a number of schools, both primary and secondary. Students were also presented with awards for outstanding performance in sports and academics. This year Dominica is celebrating its 45th Anniversary under the theme: “Anou Selebwe”.

Guests and dignitaries at National Youth Rally

 

Copyright 2012 Dominica News Online, DURAVISION INC. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

Disclaimer: The comments posted do not necessarily reflect the views of DominicaNewsOnline.com and its parent company or any individual staff member. All comments are posted subject to approval by DominicaNewsOnline.com. We never censor based on political or ideological points of view, but we do try to maintain a sensible balance between free speech and responsible moderating.

We will delete comments that:

  • contain any material which violates or infringes the rights of any person, are defamatory or harassing or are purely ad hominem attacks
  • a reasonable person would consider abusive or profane
  • contain material which violates or encourages others to violate any applicable law
  • promote prejudice or prejudicial hatred of any kind
  • refer to people arrested or charged with a crime as though they had been found guilty
  • contain links to "chain letters", pornographic or obscene movies or graphic images
  • are off-topic and/or excessively long

See our full comment/user policy/agreement.

2 Comments

  1. Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
    November 12, 2023

    “She mentioned the youth of Dominica as the torchbearers of the future and asserted that they deserve to be celebrated for their potential and unwavering determination.”
    A torchbearer is someone who inspires others in working towards valued goals!
    So, I asks what are these so called torchbearers accomplishments, what have they contributed to the development of the nation?
    Some of these people will never hold a paying job in Dominica, they might be planing while you talk of celebrating to get out of Dominica, because all they will ever get out of Dominica, is the costume they are dressed in!
    “As we celebrate Dominica, we must also celebrate the traditions that make us who we are, the vibrant music to include calypso, cadence and AM to PM Bouyon, the delicious cuisine, the colourful cultural modern dances,” she said.”
    All of the above is baloney, only in Dominica, what is unique about that!
    Forever poverty shall consume you all.

  2. Roxanne
    November 3, 2023

    These people (members of the youth council) live in a fantasy world prescribed by Skerrit. Either one participates in his propaganda nonsense or one is finished. There are other another countries in the world that practise this on their people, the worst one, no doubt, is North Korea with madman Kim at the helm.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 20 Thumb down 1

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

:) :-D :wink: :( 8-O :lol: :-| :cry: 8) :-? :-P :-x :?: :oops: :twisted: :mrgreen: more »

 characters available