The Energy Awareness Week 2010 Essay Competition Prize Giving ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and National Development in conjunction with the Ministry of Physical Development and the Environment was held on 8th July 2011. The Secondary and Tertiary level participants were long anticipating the event which was originally earmarked for November 2010 but was delayed due to the passage of Hurricane Tomas. The essay competition formed part of activities of Energy awareness Week and the World Association of Sustainable Development Conference 2010 which was held in Saint Lucia. Ten students in all participated in the competition and most of the entries were received from students in the South of the island. The students were required to write an essay on the theme "Energy Efficiency for Economic Empowerment, Save Energy, Save Money, Save the Environment" Secondary school students were required to produce an essay of 1500 words while the Tertiary level students' word limit was 2000 words.
The essay competition was seen as an activity which would assist students in learning more about energy and building on their knowledge in science, business and global affairs. The competition would also provide an avenue for self- expression and help enhance their language and communication skills. Their critical thinking and argumentative skills were also tested as part of the exercise. Although the number of participants was lower that expected, the quality of submissions was very encouraging. With the support of some kind private sector organizations, the students were generously rewarded for their efforts. The hope is that the prizes received will contribute to the success of their academic careers.
In the Upper Secondary and Tertiary level the first place winner of a Laptop sponsored by JE Bergasse was Stephanie Dilsuk of AIM-U. In the same category the two hundred and fifty dollar ($250.00) second place prize was awarded to Kayann Charlery from Campus B. The third place prize was awarded to Quanley Mariette of the Choiseul Secondary School in the amount of one hundred and fifty ($150.00) sponsored by solar dynamics.
The Lower - Secondary prizes first place laptop prize was awarded to Chelsea Dilsuk from Campus A. This was sponsored by GBTS. Tricia Cheong of Campus A was the second place winner and recipient of the Bank of Saint Lucia two hundred and fifty dollar ($250.00) prize. Neeke Bisette of the Choiseul Secondary School was the third place winner and recipient of the one hundred and fifty ($150.00) solar dynamics prize.
Other participants namely Khadija Mason of the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School; Taz Raveneau of Campus A; Annicia Daniel of Choiseul Secondary and Kephia Lord of the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School all received tokens for participation including passes for the Our Planet.
The organizers of the competition hope to publish some of the winning submission and wishes to thank the participants and sponsors of the competition.