Primary Schools Performing Arts Festival kicks off on Tuesday

The preliminary stage of the 2013 edition of the Primary Schools Performing Arts Festival (PRISPAF) begins on Tuesday. And, according to officials at the Ministry of Culture, participation is expected from over 62 schools across the country.{{more}}

The nation’s youth will be given the opportunity to show off their talent in a variety of forms: poetry, drumming, dance, singing, music, choral speech, mime, rap, or dub.

The preliminaries will run until March 6, at which point the best of the best will square off against each other in the “Grand Days” aspect of the competition.

The Grand Days, which is scheduled for March 11 to 12, provides for better documentation of the various performances, Anthony Theobalds, director of culture said.

Among the main objectives of the event are to develop a sense of co-operation among schools, create an avenue for talent to be discovered in schools and to use the performing arts to help increase productivity.

“We in the Ministry believe that if we help to develop our cultural talent here, our country would be better off in many ways,” Elvis Charles, junior minister in the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture said.

He added that it was impossible to understand the full impact and therefore wrong to underestimate the value of such activities.

“We tend to look at economic development as the only form of development, but a country’s cultural riches say much of that country.”

When a country makes a decision to develop its young, that country is helping in the children’s development, Charles reasoned.

He pledged continued support for the programme, saying that this was a good way to develop students, not only at the primary level, but at all levels.

This year’s competition is once again being sponsored by Professional Secretarial and Consultancy Inc.

Managing Director Camille Crichton said, at the official launch on Tuesday, that being a sponsor meant more than just fulfilling her company’s corporate responsibility.

She said that she sees her sponsorship as her way of supporting positive youth development.

“And to stimulate, challenge and encourage our young people to plan for the future,” she said. (DD)