Schools taking part in the 2016/2017 RBC Young Leaders Programme will this time around focus their projects on the theme, “I am WE – Volunteering for Impact.”

The theme was announced on February 8, during a Young Leaders Teachers’ Workshop, which was held at the Peace Memorial Hall in Richmond Hill.

Sales and Service manager at RBC SVG Amelia Lai, speaking during the workshop, asked teachers and educators to support the youth in their quest for excellence and making their efforts count.

Stating the importance of the initiative, Lai said that the Young Leaders Programme is evidence of RBC’s continued commitment to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and the wider Caribbean Community and an avenue to empower young minds to contribute to the development of their country and the region.

For its contribution to the holistic development of young people throughout the Caribbean the RBC Young Leaders Programme has received several awards, including its election to the United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Roll of Honour, Commonwealth Youth Awards, the Trinidad and Tobago Humming Bird Medal of Merit National Award and the Grenada Tourism Award for research and architectural heritage.

Lai said that in her opinion, this year’s theme “I am WE – Volunteering for Impact” will challenge students to make a tangible and sustainable difference within their communities through volunteerism.

“Volunteerism is an admirable quality to develop from an early age and teaches one to focus not on oneself, but externally to others with the objective of making a positive and impactful change. We encourage our Young Leaders to embrace this opportunity and to also think globally,” said Lai.

She stressed that RBC is serious about its commitment to youth and youth empowerment and this programme is a demonstration of the Bank’s commitment to providing focused and significant support to the region’s youth.

The Young Leaders Programme has been in existence since 1997 and has evolved into the flagship RBC youth development programme, which is executed not only in St Vincent and the Grenadines, but also in Grenada, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.

Participating schools are expected to present projects focused around each year’s theme. The best projects are selected by a panel of judges and the top schools will be awarded with cash and other prizes.

Last year, the Georgetown Secondary School (GSS) received the Award of Distinction doing a project under the theme “Me, You, We: A Shared Vision for a Better Society,” the St Vincent Grammar School was second and third place was awarded to the Emmanuel High School Mesopotamia. The Girls’ High School was fourth, while the Most Outstanding Young Leader award went to Dave Sutton of the GSS. The Intermediate High School received the Judge’s Award.

Speaking at the workshop this morning, Makeisha Bobb, coordinating teacher of the GSS Young Leaders, praised the programme and noted that it has helped change the behaviour and lives of a number of delinquent students at the GSS.

She said that during the last competition, the school sought to involve the least disciplined students and that decision was a success, as it had paid off. Bobb revealed also that a student who seemed to have been destined for failure turned his life around during the programme and was made a prefect.

Also present at Wednesday’s function were RBC project judge Margaret Leacock, senior education officer in the Ministry of Education Kay Martin Jack and RBC local coordinator Muriel Fraser.(LC)