The Prime Minister, Dr. The Honourable Timothy Harris met with hundreds of young people yesterday, Wednesday, September 14th, from Charlestown Secondary School, Gingerland Secondary School and Nevis Sixth Form College at the Nevis Performing Arts Centre.
As part of the Schools Patriotic Programme, students heard presentations from His Excellency the Governor-General Sir S.W. Tapley Seaton, The Prime Minister, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, and Premier, the Honourable Vance Amory. It was a rare opportunity for the young people to hear from illustrious leaders in the Federation.
Premier Amory spoke about the five national heroes and observed that the young people would only now be able to hear about independence either through research or through important celebratory events such as took place.
The Prime Minister emphasised:
“You are never too young to think of yourself as heroes. Our start in life in not as important as how we fill our years. Our choices must be judicious, for example we must be careful in our choice of friends. We should reflect on our heroes on whose shoulders we now stand. Industry and creativity make an important difference to the quality of our lives, so go forward and make your contribution to our country’s development.”
The Prime Minister made reference to the national heroes honoured in Jamaica and indicated that they did not live very long. He made the point that one’s age was not the most important determinant of one’s contribution. Age, he said was just a number. The majority of heroes in the context of Jamaica had a very short life: Paul Bogle (1822-1865), George Gordon (1820 to 1865), Nanny, (1686-1783). What is important is the impact that we have on the future.
The Governor General concluded the presentations and was introduced as a “man in the middle of history”. He spoke about his educational choices of French, Spanish and Latin and urged the young people to apply themselves to their study.
The students asked a range of questions some of which focused on the role of the Governor General, as well the use of more sophisticated technology at our points of entry and issues surrounding new developments in Nevis.
This event was one of a number of first time events for Nevis and put in place since the Unity government came into power. Earlier in the week The Annual Prime Minister’s Independence Lecture Series also took place at Nevis Performing Arts Centre and saw Larry Quinlan, Global Chief Information Officer of Deloitte talk about the important role digital technology plays in “Promoting Prosperity through Sustainability and National Unity.”