The Embassy of Barbados in the Republic of Panama was pleased to welcome The Ellerslie School students and staff to its Chancery in Panama City, recently.
Chargé d’Affaires, Sandra Gittens, in her welcome to the group, which included Principal, Andrea Baptiste and Deputy Principal, Carl Applewhaite, shared the history of the mission, noting that the Embassy was established in 2020.
Mrs. Gittens said this was “in line with the Barbados Government’s desire to strengthen its relations and cooperation with Panama across a number of areas, including trade, investment, tourism and education”.
She expressed the hope that the visit would signal the start of a new relationship with The Ellerslie School in pursuit of future student-to-student and teacher-to-teacher exchanges, in collaboration with the Ministries of Educational Transformation and Training and Tertiary Education and its Panamanian counterpart, within the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries.
Speaking on the value of learning a foreign language, First Secretary, Shireifa Joseph, spoke of her experience as a foreign language student and the positive impact that it has had on her career.
She encouraged the students to continue their foreign language journey, signalling that they were well on their way to becoming “bridge builders” in their future careers with the capacity to connect Barbados to other countries across the globe.
Counsellor at the Embassy, Michelle Carter, also noted the value of language learning, especially for those studying tourism, stating that developing a strong proficiency in a foreign language will serve as a critical tool in opening doors to their success in this sector, whether in Barbados or abroad. (PR/GIS)
Caption: Students, teachers and parents of the Ellerslie secondary school to the Embassy of Barbados in the Republic of Panama