Belizeans get creative with Florida Caribbean Cruise Association’s Competition

Two Belizean students made it in the top three in the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association’s regional environmental poster awareness competition. Earlier this year, the B.T.B. teamed up with the F.C.C.A. to promote and stimulate environmental awareness among Caribbean students. This year, the competition was conducted in two categories: a junior division for children ages twelve years and under and a senior division for children ages thirteen and sixteen years. The two students who made it in the top are Jordanny Williams and Nazeem Segura.  Duane Moody reports.

Duane Moody, Reporting

It’s an exhibit at the House of Culture showcasing a collage of artistic pieces of students from primary and high schools countrywide who participated in the Preserve the Environment Poster Competition held yearly by the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association. And today, the official opening of the exhibit was held. Two Belizean students submissions from seventeen countries.

Clive Myers

Clive Myers, Destination Planning & Development Coordinator, B.T.B.

“For the past sixteen years, Belize has fostered a relationship with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association that is responsible for integrating all cruise lines throughout the entire world. And the B.T.B. and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture has worked with this FCCA Association in several different activities most of them being inclined towards students in terms of Essay competitions, poster competitions and the like. And this year Belize participated in the poster competition in the junior and senior category. Essentially the poster competition is one of the many was that the FCCA along with the Tourism Board aids in fostering the preservation of the environment in all countries. This year, the association received posters from seventeen countries including the Caribbean and Latin America. And definitely it is gratifying to enough as Belize to know that we had not just one winner but two winners in the two categories that were presented.”

Nazeem Segura

A kaleidoscope of colors depicted in some thirty-three art pieces focused on environmental preservation. In the junior division of the competition, standard six student of Grace Primary School, Nazeem Segura, won third with his piece entitled, “Wildlife is my brother. I am my brother’s keeper.”

Nazeem Segura, 3^rd Place Winner, Junior Poster Competition

“It’s wildlife that has me alive right now; it’s the trees that give us oxygen and that takes in our carbon dioxide that it can give us the oxygen and we the humans of Belize and the world, we are the ones that keep it alive because we aren’t the ones always chopping it down. Because there are all kinds of forests and reserves and this one I chose in particular because it had the swamp, the mountains and the butterfly farm.”

Taking first place in the senior competition locally and second place regionally, was third form student of Belize High School, Jordanny Williams. Williams says it took him about a week to put the piece together.

Jordanny Williams

Jordanny Williams, 2^nd Place Winner, Senior Poster Competition

“I feel very privileged. It’s an honor to win such a prestigious prize. I’d like to thank everybody that supported me and I’m happy that I came out second.”

Duane Moody

“Tell us about your piece and what inspired it.”

Jordanny Williams

“In the environment nowadays, it is not being taken care of like how it is supposed to be taken care of. So it was very easy to find different things that could show how we could just take care of it. So that kinda inspired me. I just wanted to show that little things can help us save the environment—it’s not hard and so just everyday things that you do just put it in your dumpster; your garbage—just little things you know.”

And according to Principal, Leticia Eck, it is also a win for the school.

Leticia Eck

Leticia Eck, Principal, Belize High School

“Certainly a win for the school. We are proud of Jordanny Williams and him taking first place for the country and second place for the Caribbean is certainly an honor. Belize High School is certainly making its name and that’s what we are about.”

As second place winner in the Senior Division, Williams will be awarded a cash scholarship of three thousand dollars, while Segura receives two thousand dollars as a winner in the Junior Division. Both the Belize High School and Grace Primary will receive one thousand five hundred dollars and one thousand dollars, respectively, for art supplies. Duane Moody for News Five.

The exhibition is open to the public for the next two weeks.