The Community Independence Celebrations Secretariat (CICS) has been encouraged to expand its reach to a younger demographic and to upgrade the prizes being offered to participants.

Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith, made this suggestion during the CICS’ Dinner and Awards Ceremony for Parish Independence Committee Members, Attendants, Parish Ambassadors and Facilitators for 2022/2023, held last Saturday at the Sandals Barbados Resort and Spa.

Mr. Griffith noted that the programme, over its 29 years of existence, has helped with the development of those who participated and built a sense of community with its activities and outreach programme. 

It is with this in mind that he proposed lowering the age of participants and upgrading the prizes offered, which would be one of the ways to keep the programme fresh and attractive, as well as to ensure its continued success.

“I’m toying with the thought of maybe going younger, but I will be guided by the team in the Secretariat, as it relates to the age range of persons who are involved in this programme…. I need to see things like scholarships being offered to persons who participate in this programme.

“I think we need to because the fact that you have impacted the community; the fact that you have impacted families as it relates to this particular programme, I think we need to move to a stage where the rewards are more than what we would have seen. So, I just want for that to be part of … the standard going forward as it relates to parish independence committees that we’re able to offer scholarships to those persons who excel,” he stated.

He also suggested succession planning to groom younger persons to take over from those who have been working for years as attendants and committee members.

Mr. Griffith gave the assurance that the Ministry is committed to the continued success of the PIC’s programme and indicated that other programmes would be leveraged to assist participants in their development, including the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme and the Employability Programmes.

He said: “I promise all of you in the room that every single thing will be done by Government to ensure that we have continuous success within this programme.”

CICS National Coordinator, Jessica Parris, shared that the parish projects throughout the two years were of a “high standard” and commended all the participants for the work they produced. 

She noted: “Barbados has a plethora of untapped talent and it’s quite heartening to see the parish independence committees unearthing this talent.”

Copping the award for the Most Outstanding Parish Ambassadors for 2022 were Paul Cato and Chloe Collymore of St. Lucy, while Amario Rollock and Destiny Cummins, also from St. Lucy, won for 2023.  Their win made it three years in a row that the northern parish has won the award.

The year 2022 saw the introduction of the Committee Member of the Year award. And, receiving that award for 2022 was Nicole Collymore Secretary of the St. Peter PIC, while chairperson of the St. Andrew PIC, Tonya Stephens, won for 2023. 

The Community Independence Celebrations Secretariat was established in August 1995, within the Office of the Prime Minister, to formulate a community approach to people’s participation in independence celebrations and to stimulate greater pride in their community and nation. (PR/GIS)