Basseterre: St. Kitts, Tuesday, March 22, 2022: A Youth delegation that visited Dubai during the week of March 14 led by the Minister of Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, Hon. Jonel Powell returned to the island on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.
Minister Powell noted that the trip was extremely productive and enjoyable though they experienced some challenges.
“It was a very successful trip,” he said. “We all had a fantastic time.”
The teenagers expressed their delight in the once-in-a-lifetime experience. Gianna Phipps, a fourth-form student of the Basseterre High School said that the most memorable part of the trip was “the Burj Khalifa when we got to see all these lights from the high floor. It was just an amazing view.”
Gianna noted that of all the places visited the Expo 2020 Dubai was her favourite. “We got to see lots of pavilions. I was very grateful that I got a peek at the culture from different countries.”
Summing up her experience, a current Law student at UWI Dahlia Slack expressed
“It was quite a different experience for sure. Going to the Expo we not only got to experience the culture in Dubai but we experienced cultures from all over the world, from Russia to Ukraine. We got to visit a lot of Caribbean countries- we were well represented. It was truly an honoring experience to be able to be there in that moment,” remarked Ms. Slack
Mauriel Knight, a student at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) noted that the cultural experience was quite different, memorable and educational.
“Well it was very different to what we have here in St. Kitts and Nevis and even over here in the western world, seeing the difference in how women are treated in their daily lives, the difference in travel and even how Dubai has sprung up after so little time. It was really something to experience. Even journeying across the Expo and seeing not only just Dubai’s culture, but the culture of so many different countries, it certainly was something to experience,” he said
Mr. Knight noted that he thinks everyone should take a trip to Dubai and he is eagerly awaiting the next Dubai Expo, revealing he has already started to save for it.
The opportunity to visit Dubai was the reward for those teens whose essays were selected in the Ministry of Youth Empowerment essay competition entitled Food, Agriculture and Livelihoods: How do we sustainably grow food to meet future demands.”