The organising committee of the Caribbean Junior Calypso Monarch, the first of its kind, held a regional draw of judges in ANGUILLA on Saturday 3rd June 2017 at 10:00am (La Vue Hotel). The purpose of the ceremony was to select judges for the 2017 edition of the Caribbean Junior Calypso Monarch to be held in Barbados on Sunday 20th August 2017.
The draw of judges was supervised by BDO (Eastern Caribbean) and streamed LIVE via Facebook.
Judges from the following participating countries were selected: St Lucia, Montserrat, Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada. They will join a judge from the host country to form a panel of 5 seasoned regional judges. All participating countries were eligible to submit judges for possible selection. However, should any of the selected judges be unable to fulfil their duties the reserve judge will be selected from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Mr. Bren Romney (Director of the Department of Youth and Culture) and Mr. Julian Arthur (Managing Director, Caribbean Junior Calypso Monarch) spoke at the event.
Mr. Romney welcomed the delegation of 3 persons headed by Mr. Arthur to Anguilla and thanked them for selecting Anguilla to host the draw of regional judges. Mr. Romney in his remarks also lauded the Caribbean Junior Calypso Monarch Committee and the brainchild behind this historical event, Mr. Julian Arthur, for his vision and foresight in developing and executing the upcoming regional competition. Mr. Romney acknowledged the benefits of the programme to the development and preservation of calypso on a national and regional level and pledged Anguilla’s support to its continued advancement.
Mr. Julian Arthur, in his remarks thanked BDO Eastern Caribbean, La Vue Hotel and especially the Department of Culture in the Ministry of Social Development for making this momentous occasion possible. He also expressed his satisfaction with the transparency and outcome of the draw. “I was very pleased with the transparency of the draw as supervised by BDO Eastern Caribbean. What we wanted at the CJMC is a diverse panel which truly represents the regional nature of the competition and I am happy that the draw reflected this. I now look forward to these judges offering their experience and expertise to help to make the show a success”.
About the Caribbean Junior Calypso Competition 12 of the region’s Junior Calypso Monarchs are set to go head to head in August of this year as the inaugural Caribbean Junior Monarch Competition was launched in Barbados on January 12th, 2017.
The brainchild of Cultural Creative Inc. and fully endorsed by primary partner UNICEF, The Caribbean Junior Monarch Competition – the first of its kind in the region – is aimed to stimulate the continued legacy of the calypso art form. As revealed by Mr. Julian Arthur, Director of Cultural Creative Inc., “the competition is not only a way to breathe new life into the Calypso arena at the junior level but is a platform to develop the art form from a young age, thus creating sustainability in an area that is a cultural signature of the Caribbean”.
The competition seeks to provide a stage for the young artiste to not only compete against each other for the title of Caribbean Junior Monarch but also allows for them to be exposed to a plethora of elements of the art form as workshops and seminars will be conducted prior to the event. This aspect of the competition has been further boosted as Soca Queen Allison Hinds has signed on as mentor to the contestants and will be actively working with them individually prior to the competition. Other major artist from across the region will also act as mentors to the junior calypsonians.
In addition, the partnership with UNICEF will allow for every contestant to be designated an UNICEF Youth Advocate in their respective territory – a title they will hold for a one year period, post competition. This title allows them to be advocates not only for themselves and for other children on child-related issues but is driven by their participation and representation in community youth events and festivals.
-Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
