PAM officials have said that they are happy with what they described as a large cross section of the East Basseterre Community that packed the Newtown Community Center on Wednesday night, 3^rd October, 2012, to hear the message of political aspirant, Mr. Ian Patches Liburd. 

It was the first in a series of Town Hall meetings being organized by the People’s Action Movement and newly elected leader, Shawn Richards, the parliamentary representative for Sandy Point. 

Liburd, who is the President of the Newtown Sports Club, an entertainer, sports enthusiast, community activist and host of the popular Voices program on WINN FM, styled his presentation as a message of Change through Unity. 

His theme spoke to the concept of inclusion and the embracing of persons of all political persuasions, for the common goal of making the country a better place to live. According to PAM officials, this message resonated loudly throughout the packed room of residents and constituents of East Basseterre. 

“The enthusiastic crowd expressed their concerns about the many issues that are plaguing not only residents of East Basseterre, but also the entire country. The gross lack of development in the community, infrastructural and otherwise as well as representation, crime, unemployment and the recent land swap bill, that was recently tabled, were some of the concerns raised,” said a PAM release. 

During the presentation of PAM’s leader, Shawn Richards, he spoke to his plans for the party leading up to the elections, and for the country as Prime Minister. The meeting was also addressed by People’s Action Movement Deputy Chairperson, Jonel Powell, who spoke to the issue of electoral reform, which he stated remains an important matter that needs to be addressed and tackled, said PAM officials. 

The Chairperson of the East Basseterre PAM Activities committee, Natasha Grey, indicated that, “As a party we are certainly pleased with the turnout. However the large turnout and the even larger number of concerns, regarding the state of affairs in the community and country, serves to confirm what is being felt, and that is, our country is at its lowest ebb and our people are looking for a glimmer of hope and a light at the end of the tunnel of despair that has been created by this Labour Government. And the people are looking to the People’s Action Movement to lead them to that light.” 

The People’s Action Movement will be hosting a similar Town Hall meeting in Cayon during the course of next week. Further details on time and place will be issued in a subsequent notice, said the release.

Nominations forms will be distributed throughout the tourism industry, and will also be available from the offices of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, which is located in the Pelican Mall in Basseterre.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of the St.Kitts Tourism Authority, Mrs. Rosecita Jeffers, the Awards evaluates nominees on their delivery of a holistic visitor experience based on the strength of their products and services, and is an overall effort to raise the bar in the quality of the St. Kitts tourism experience. She further pointed out that the awards ceremony is a celebration of the outstanding contributions to the development of the St. Kitts tourism product.

Businesses and individuals can be nominated for various awards including Pillar of Tourism, Supervisor of the Year, Employee of the Year, the People’s Choice, the National Champion, Responsible Tourism and the Excellence Award.

“The St.Kitts Tourism Experience Awards recognizes those who have been exceptional within the various tourism sub-sectors over a 12-month period and serves as a source of inspiration to others,” Mrs Jeffers said. “ As St. Kitts grows as a destination, there is a greater need for us to work with our partners , better understand the needs of our customers and deliver an excellence service in order to offer a quality tourism experience.”

The 2012 St.Kitts Tourism Experience Awards will be held on the 17^th November, 2012 at the Carambola Beach Club, and will be one of the highlights of the St. Kitts Tourism Awareness Month of Activities.

The general public is being encouraged to submit nominees before the 12^th October, 2012. Nominations forms can be obtained at the St.Kitts Tourism Authority or by sending an email to

awards@stkittstourism.kn.”

Also, interested persons can click the link below to download the nomination form: http://stkittstourim.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c3846884b33026c245b0e4322&;;id=8bf2b894ce&e=31e413361e

Complete the form and submit to the St. Kitts Tourism Authority via: Email:  awards@stkittstourism.kn”  or  Fax:  1 869 465 8794

The two Tourism topics that were chosen this year are: ‘Sports Tourism’ and ‘Using Social Media for Tourism.’                                                                                                                   

A number of youth participants from throughout the Caribbean are  expected to partake, with representation from  the islands of Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, BVI, Dominica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Saint Martin, St. Maarten USVI and  the host Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.  Notably, there will be a representative from St. Kitts namely                          Mr. Allaric Pennyfeather of the Basseterre High School, and from Nevis in the person of        Ms. Somiche Guishard of the Gingerland High School.

The Tourism Youth Congress is a facet of CTO’s state of industry conference and is aimed at giving youths a voice on the same issues that the heads of their Tourism Authorities address. In this way they are able to discuss issues of regional importance from a youth point of view, and are encouraged to be a part of the sustainability of their islands. The Youth Congress will engage students between the ages of 14 and 17 and is structured to mirror a CTO Board of Directors’ Meeting.  It will feature a formal agenda which addresses time appropriate tourism issues with which the region currently struggles. 

Participants are free to develop topics in whatever way they think most appropriate, with the assistance of their island’s Tourism Authority. Following the presentation of prepared topics, a mystery question will also be tabled for discussion and each student is 0expected to present a response. Although the event is not staged like a competition, a panel of judges will listen to all presentations and identify one winner and runners up at the end of the Meeting. Those students who are successful in securing the top positions will be awarded attractive prizes and each participant will receive tokens of participation.

The Congress is a closed event and is designed to attract some of brightest young minds from CTO member territories. Notably, in order widen this year’s scope for youth involvement St. Kitts has opted to invite representatives from all high schools and sixth forms in the Federation. Their participation will be in the form of special activities, tailored to suit their age groups at strategic intervals during the day. They too will have the opportunity to win attractive prizes, having given their views on critical topics of interest. 

As the congress quickly approaches we invite the general public to look out for more publications about the event as well as information about the winners after its conclusion.