(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Trinidad and Tobago will be hosting the second Zonal Round of the (Caribbean Community) CARICOM Regional Quiz Competition scheduled for 17-18 June 2008 at the National Library, St Vincent Street in Port-of-Spain.
Zonal Round Two will see Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago battling for the two remaining places in the Semi-Finals.
The first Zonal Round which took place in St Vincent and the Grenadines last week, ended with St Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia earning the first two places in the Semi- Finals slated for 30 June in Antigua and Barbuda.
The Final Round of the Competition is scheduled for July 1 2008 and the winner will be presented at the Opening Ceremony of the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government on that same evening.
Sponsored in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) the CARICOM Regional Quiz Competition, which has been organized in four stages – the preliminary rounds at the national level; the zonal rounds; the semi finals and the regional finals – is being conducted to mark the 35th Anniversary of the Signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
It is aimed at increasing the knowledge of students about the Caribbean Community and the integration movement in areas such as the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME); the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ); ongoing work in Human and Social Development such as the Pan Caribbean Partnership (PANCAP) against HIV/AIDS; the development of strategies to cope with climate change; CARICOM in the Information Society and CARICOM’s interface with the international community. Participants for the Quiz will be drawn from among middle grade students of secondary schools.
The Winners and Runners-up in this year’s Quiz are in for a treat of prizes and trophies donated by a number of organizations including: ANSA MCAL, Caribbean Airlines, Citizen’s Bank Guyana Inc, Hand-in Hand Mutual Fire and Life Insurance Company, Frandec Travel Service, Giftland Office Max, Guyana and Trinidad Mutual Fire and Life Insurance company, Laparkan Holdings Limited, Medi-care Pharmacy, Le Meridien Pegasus, Neal and Massy Holdings Limited, Sagicor Group Limited, Scotia Bank, Guyana and Topaz Jewellers.
The first Regional Quiz Competition took place in 2004, and climaxed the activities of the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Then, Guyana, on its own turf, defeated St. Kitts and Nevis to gain the coveted top position in the competition and its captain Nicolette Boatswain, a student of Bishop’s High School earned the title of Best Team Player in the Competition.
