Grand Bahama Youth Film Competition announced

By Laurie Tuchel

Freeport, The Bahamas - The Grand Bahama Youth Film committee announces the first GRAND BAHAMA YOUTH FILM COMPETITION for Grand Bahamians between the ages of 14 and 18 years old. Entries will be accepted beginning May 1st through August 1st, 2011.

One of the major sponsors, Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival (FLIFF) will be hosting for the first time, "FLIFF on Location in Grand Bahama". This will take place from October 26th through October 30th. It will be the very first time an international film festival has come to Grand Bahama and the Committee is using this opportunity to open this exciting event to Grand Bahama’s young people. The festival will take place at the Pelican Bay Hotel’s new conference center, The Canal House, which will be turned into a multi-theatre complex for the event. The new facilities and convenience of being adjacent to Port Lucaya Square makes it an excellent choice.

The committee has created an original video invitation, with well-known personalities Jenelle Hollingsworth, Tomacina Culmer, Tempestt Stubbs, Rico Thompson, Jackie Dack and Lyndah Wells.

So…Who are we looking for? We are calling all 14 to 18 year olds who live in Grand Bahama and are cool, dynamic and creative - with fresh, authentic ideas.

What are we asking? We’re asking our young Grand Bahamians to make an original film, lasting 5 minutes or less…and the topic? Why, “A CONVERSATION IN GRAND BAHAMA”, of course!

“A CONVERSATION IN GRAND BAHAMA” can be anything! It can be a normal conversation between people just talking, or it can be a topic from wherever your mind takes you. You can use animation, comedy and fantasy. It can be a musical, science-fiction or a reality script. In fact, “A CONVERSATION IN GRAND BAHAMA” should be a reflection of unbridled, youthful imagination. In other words, anything goes.

Yesterday Freeport – Today The World

Scudamore outside his London office
 

 Freeport, Grand Bahama - The boss of one of the world’s fastest-growing sporting organisations has been honoured by Grand Bahama’s longest-established sports club.

Richard Scudamore, the chief executive of the UK’s English Premier League, was recognised for his contribution to the development of youth sport, particularly soccer, on the island.

He was made an honorary life member, one of only five, by the Freeport Rugby and Football Club which has hosted the island’s hugely-popular soccer camp for the past seven years.

For the first three of those years the Premier League was the major sponsor, providing former international players as coaches and general support, including authentic club uniforms for participants. Then when the sponsorship finished he arranged a donation of almost $100,000 to help build the extended sports pitches and training areas at the club’s Settlers Way site.

The latter has helped enormously in boys and girls soccer, particularly in the latter where almost 200 girls play every Saturday afternoon in season, and also in freeing up the original pitch for use in developing young people’s rugby, including the recent club high school initiative.

Scudamore, who was on Grand Bahama for the Easter holiday staying with friends, was given his award during a small ceremony at the clubhouse. Afterwards he revealed that Freeport had been a pioneer –what had been done here was so successful it has since been extended to 43 countries worldwide.

The league has developed into a truly worldwide organisation since Scudamore took it over in November 1999. Then it was UK-only. Now its matches are watched on TV by more than 700 million people in 211 countries and territories.

Its annual turnover is measured in the billions and, according to The Times newspaper of London, it is challenging the NBA to the title of the world’s first truly global sports league.

During his visit former UK and US newspaperman Scudamore inspected the new playing area which is currently being prepared for this year’s soccer camp which is being held there from June 21 to June 25.

It will be sure to be the best camp yet and already the finest group of coaches has been assembled to lead the local volunteers. The price is being held again this year to reflect the tough times many face on the island and that means it is about a third the cost of similar events in the US.

“We have had some great coaches in the past but there is no doubt that this year’s trio will be brilliant. They have an outstanding reputation for working with children, giving them a good time but also teaching them valuable lessons,” said organiser Richard Malcolm.

“The debt we owe Richard Scudamore is enormous. The fact that he chose to support children’s sport here on relatively tiny Grand Bahama is amazing when he had the whole world to go at. That has never really been fully acknowledged by the sporting fraternity here, including the print media and TV.

“This recognition by the rugby club may not seem much to some but it is a very rare award and a very timely one. The camp organizers would like to thank the committee for it. Richard certainly understood the import of it.”

Rugby Club president Rob Speller said: “There is no doubt what we owe Richard a lot for his vision and generosity. We thought hard about what we could do to thank him and we are glad we struck a chord with him by granting him this rare recognition.”

Registration forms for this year’s camp (price $175) can be obtained from Town and Country in Yellow Pine Street; Animale, Port Lucaya; from this website; or from derek.archer1@gmail.com

GB Youth Development Association to coordinate Technical School

By K. NANCOO-RUSSELL

Freeport News Reporter

The West Grand Bahama Youth Development Association will be spearheading the technical school being developed by BORCO/Vopak Terminal Bahamas.
This was revealed by the Association's director Fred Delancy during his address to the Rotary Club of Lucaya yesterday.
The Association, formed in 1992, currently hosts a Pre-Technology Training Program for students who may have had to leave high school because of poor academic performance or behavioural problems.

"These students basically were on the street wreaking havoc on the society," Delancy explained to the Rotarians.

"We decided through the association to do something about it so we implemented what we called a pre-technology training program and the whole idea was to expose them to a number of different technical areas so that they would be better equipped when it comes to choosing careers in the future."

Delancy said the value of earning a technical education is often overlooked by many students. The program however, aims to convince them that there are some very exciting, challenging and financially rewarding opportunities which await them through technical education.

"The carrot that we dangle before them is the job. We prepare them for the workplace," he explained.

After the students have successfully completed their training, they will begin a one-month job training program.

"For the most part, the companies who partner with us, are still willing in spite of the depressed company, to hire these persons full-time. So, the vast majority of our people remain employed."

Delancy expressed his thanks to those companies for their support of the program.

He also thanked the Grand Bahama Port Authority for its assistance over the years.

"The Port gave us a facility in Hawksbill to work from and we're in the process of trying to renovate that facility," he explained.

It also provided seven scholarships to young persons to attend the pre-technology program.

Additionally, the GBPA has committed to providing the association with two acres of land in the Hawksbill area to construct its own facility. That project is expected to commence sometime this year, he noted.

Meanwhile, the Association will work closely with BORCO, he explained, to establish the technical training institute.

Last week, during the Grand Bahama Business Outlook, BORCO's Managing Di-rector Raymond Jones announced that BOR-CO will launch its "BORCO Foundation" in March 2010, which will facilitate the creation of a technical school that will train and certify up to 30 local welders and technicians per year. The cost, he said, will be fully funded by the company.

On Tuesday, Delancy explained that the program will be run by the association, which will provide the instruction.

"We did the proposal for BORCO and the association will actually be running the day to day affairs of the technical training institute though the BORCO foundation," he said.

"BORCO is prepared to invest I think ... close to $500,000 in creating the best technical educational experience possible for our youngsters so I think that's something good that we can be proud of. We are about to reduce the amount of persons that we have to bring into the country to perform semi-skilled and skilled work and so therefore we thank BORCO for that."

Delancy also announced plans for the association's annual Sports Jamboree and Career Fair which will take place later this month.

"The whole idea is to bring young people together through sports and at the same time expose them to the various careers which are available through technical education. Most of our major industrial companies will be there. There will be job applications, for those companies looking for people," he shared.

"In spite of what has happened with our local and world economy, technical jobs are still available. The only problem is our young people are not applying themselves to become trained and qualified to take advantage of these opportunities."

The program aims to make them aware of all that is available to them once they have the right skills, he added.

"We are partnering with all of our major industrial partners to make sure this becomes a reality."