L-R Front Row Seated Judges Karolyn Smith, Aleigha General and Nasaria Suckoo-Chollette, Miss World/Supranational Contestant, Tracey Campbell, Host Vanessa Burke, Dean of CARICOM Youth Ambassadors
L-R Johanah O’Connor 2nd Place, Camani Stuart 1st Place and Ikenna Eleweanya 3rd Place
Applause filled the room as the 10 finalists of this year’s Youth Poetry Contest took to centre stage, marking the culmination of a creative journey hosted by the New-Self Help Foundation in partnership with the Youth Services Unit and the Foster Group.
The event, which took place at Radio Cayman’s Talk Today show on Wednesday, 16 October was hosted by Ms. Vanessa Burke, Dean of the CARICOM Youth Ambassador Programme. In total, 36 contestants took part in the preliminary rounds and a poetry workshop at the Intergenerational Hub, representing several high schools across the Cayman Islands, including Layman E. Scott High School, St. Ignatius High School, John Gray High School, Cayman International School, Clifton Hunter High School, Cayman Academy, Cayman Learning Centre and Hope Academy.
The finalists performed self-penned poems, with enthusiasm and skill highlighting themes ranging from the environment to nostalgic memories. The overall winner, Camani Stuart from Hope Academy won first place by a narrow margin with her insightful and wellperformed poem: “The Breath of the Sea,” earning her $500 cash prize. Johanah O’Connor and Ikenna Eleweanya both from John Gray High School placed second and third, winning $400 and $300 respectively.
“The New Self-Help Foundation was created to inspire, educate and cultivate young people’s creativity and imagination, empowering them to take responsibility for their future.
The high quality of poetry entries truly reflects that mission,” said the organisation’s Founder JC Connor.
Poems and performances were evaluated on content and delivery by a panel of judges. This year’s judges were poets Nasaria Suckoo-Chollette, Karolyn Smith, Miss World/Supranational contestant Tracey Campbell and Aleigha General, Office Support Assistant for the Youth Services Unit.
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