#Digital Transformation Services Company Trinidad | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

soukacatv · 6 years ago

Text

In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a modulating signal that typically contains information to be transmitted. Most radio systems in the 20th century used frequency modulation (FM) or amplitude modulation (AM) for radio broadcast.

A modulator (Digital modulator & Analog modulator) is a device that performs modulation. Following we will explain the difference among the DVBC（J.83A、J.83B）、DVB-T 、DTMB、DVBC、ISDB and ATSC:

DVB-C

DVB-C stands for “Digital Video Broadcasting – Cable” and it is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital television over cable. This system transmits an MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 family digital audio/digital video stream, using a QAM modulationwith channel coding. The standard was first published by the ETSI in 1994, and subsequently became the most widely used transmission system for digital cable television in Europe, Asia and South America.It is deployed worldwide in systems ranging from the larger cable television networks (CATV) down to smaller satellite master antenna TV (SMATV) systems.

HD Encoder To DVB-C Modulator

HDMI Encoder Modulator,16in1 Digital Headend,HD RF Modulator at Soukacatv.com

DVB-C transmitter

With reference to the figure, a short description of the single processing blocks follows.

Source codingand MPEG-2 multiplexing (MUX): video, audio, and data streams are multiplexed into an MPEG program stream (MPEG-PS). One or more MPEG-PSs are joined together into an MPEG transport stream (MPEG-TS). This is the basic digital stream which is being transmitted and received by home set top boxes (STB) or relevant integrable decoder (e.g.Conax) module. Allowed bitrates for the transported MPEG-2 depend on a number of modulation parameters: it can range from about 6 to about 64 Mbit/s (see the bottom figure for a complete listing).

MUX adaptation and energy dispersal: the MPEG-TS is identified as a sequence of data packets, of fixed length (188 bytes). With a technique called energy dispersal, the byte sequence is decorrelated.

External encoder: a first level of protection is applied to the transmitted data, using a nonbinary block code, a Reed-SolomonRS (204, 188) code, allowing the correction of up to a maximum of 8 wrong bytes for each 188-byte packet.

External interleaver: convolutional interleaving is used to rearrange the transmitted data sequence, such way it becomes more rugged to long sequences of errors.

Byte/m-tuple conversion: data bytes are encoded into bit m-tuples (m = 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8).

Differential coding: In order to get a rotation-invariant constellation, this unit shall apply a differential encoding of the two Most Significant Bits (MSBs) of each symbol.

QAM Mapper: the bit sequence is mapped into a base-band digital sequence of complex symbols. There are 5 allowed modulationmodes: 16-QAM, 32-QAM, 64-QAM, 128-QAM, 256-QAM.

Base-band shaping: the QAM signal is filtered with a raised-cosine shaped filter, in order to remove mutual signal interference at the receiving side.

DAC and front-end: the digital signal is transformed into an analog signal, with a digital-to-analog converter(DAC), and then modulated to radio frequency by the RF front-end.

Available bitrates for a DVB-C system (Mbit/s) Modulation Bandwidth (MHz) 2 4 6 8 10 16-QAM 6.41 12.82 19.23 25.64 32.05 32-QAM 8.01 16.03 24.04 32.05 40.07 64-QAM 9.62 19.23 28.85 38.47 48.08 128-QAM 11.22 22.44 33.66 44.88 56.10 256-QAM 12.82 25.64 38.47 51.29 64.11

DVB-T

DVB-T is an abbreviation for “Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial”; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998. This system transmits compressed digital audio, digital video and other data in an MPEG transport stream, using coded orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing(COFDM or OFDM) modulation. It is also the format widely used worldwide (including North America) for Electronic News Gathering for transmission of video and audio from a mobile newsgathering vehicle to a central receive point.

HD Encoder To DVB-T RF Modulator

Basics

Rather than carrying one data carrier on a single radio frequency (RF) channel, COFDM works by splitting the digital data stream into a large number of slower digital streams, each of which digitally modulates a set of closely spaced adjacent sub-carrier frequencies. In the case of DVB-T, there are two choices for the number of carriers known as 2K-mode or 8K-mode. These are actually 1,705 or 6,817 sub-carriers that are approximately 4 kHz or 1 kHz apart.

DVB-T offers three different modulation schemes (QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM).

DVB-T has been adopted or proposed for digital television broadcasting by many countries (see map), using mainly VHF 7 MHz and UHF 8 MHz channels whereas Taiwan, Colombia, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago use 6 MHz channels. Examples include the UK’s Freeview.

The DVB-T Standard is published as EN 300 744, Framing structure, channel coding and modulation for digital terrestrial television. This is available from the ETSI website, as is ETSI TS 101 154, Specification for the use of Video and Audio Coding in Broadcasting Applications based on the MPEG-2 Transport Stream, which gives details of the DVB use of source coding methods for MPEG-2 and, more recently, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC as well as audio encoding systems. Many countries that have adopted DVB-T have published standards for their implementation. These include the D-book in the UK, the Italian DGTVi, the ETSI E-Book and the Nordic countries and Ireland NorDig.

DVB-T has been further developed into newer standards such as DVB-H (Handheld), which was a commercial failure and is no longer in operation, and DVB-T2, which was initially finalised in August 2011.

DVB-T as a digital transmission delivers data in a series of discrete blocks at the symbol rate. DVB-T is a COFDM transmission technique which includes the use of a Guard Interval. It allows the receiver to cope with strong multipath situations. Within a geographical area, DVB-T also allows single-frequency network (SFN) operation, where two or more transmitters carrying the same data operate on the same frequency. In such cases the signals from each transmitter in the SFN needs to be accurately time-aligned, which is done by sync information in the stream and timing at each transmitter referenced to GPS.

The length of the Guard Interval can be chosen. It is a trade-off between data rate and SFN capability. The longer the guard interval the larger is the potential SFN area without creating intersymbol interference (ISI). It is possible to operate SFNs which do not fulfill the guard interval condition if the self-interference is properly planned and monitored.

DTMB

DTMB (Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast) is the TV standard for mobile and fixed terminals used in the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Hong Kong and Macau.

Previously known as DMB-T/H (Digital Multimedia Broadcast-Terrestrial/Handheld), the DTMB is a merger of the standards ADTB-T (developed by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University), DMB-T (developed by Tsinghua University) and TiMi (Terrestrial Interactive Multiservice Infrastructure); this last one is the standard proposed by the Academy of Broadcasting Science in 2002.

At first, neither Shanghai Jiao Tong University nor Tsinghua had enough political strength to make their own technology become the unique standard, so the final decision was to opt for a double standard, merged with the TIMI 3 standard, responding to a need for backward compatibility.

The DTMB was created in 2004 and finally became an official DTT standard in 2006.

DVB-C

HD Encoder To DVB-C Modulator

ISDB

The Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB; Japanese: 統合デジタル放送サービス, Tōgō dejitaru hōsō sābisu) is a Japanese standard for digital television (DTV) and digital radio used by the country’s radio and television networks. ISDB replaced NTSC-J analog television system and the previously used MUSE Hi-vision analogue HDTV system in Japan, and will be replacing NTSC, PAL-M and PAL-N in South America and the Philippines. Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB) services using ISDB-T started in Japan in December 2003 and in Brazil in December 2007 as a trial. Since then, many countries have adopted ISDB over other digital broadcasting standards.

DVB-T And ISDB-T Encoder Modulator

ATSC standards

Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standards are a set of standards for digital television transmission over terrestrial, cable, and satellite networks. It is largely a replacement for the analog NTSC standard, and like that standard, used mostly in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Other former users of NTSC, like Japan, have not used ATSC during their digital television transition because they adopted their own system called ISDB.

Single HD To RF MEPG2 ATSC/QAM Modulator

The ATSC standards were developed in the early 1990s by the Grand Alliance, a consortium of electronics and telecommunications companies that assembled to develop a specification for what is now known as HDTV. The standard is now administered by the Advanced Television Systems Committee. The standard includes a number of patented elements, and licensing is required for devices that use these parts of the standard. Key among these is the 8VSB modulation system used for over-the-air broadcasts.

ATSC includes two primary high definition video formats, 1080i and 720p. It also includes standard-definition formats, although initially only HDTV services were launched in the digital format. ATSC can carry multiple channels of information on a single stream, and it is common for there to be a single high-definition signal and several standard-definition signals carried on a single (former) NTSC channel allocation.

Established in 2000, the Soukacatv.com main products are modulators both in analog and digital ones, amplifier and combiner. We are the very first one in manufacturing the headend system in China. Our 16 in 1 and 24 in 1 now are the most popular products all over the world.

For more, please access to https://www.soukacatv.com.

16in1 Digital Headend

Company:Dingshengwei Electronics Co., Ltd

Address : BldgA,the first industry park of Guanlong,Xili Town,Nanshan,Shenzhen,Guangdong,China

Tel : +86 0755 26909863

Fax : +86 0755 26984949

Mobile : 13410066011

Email : [email protected]

Website: https://www.soukacatv.com

Source: wikipedia

What is the DVBC（J.83A、J.83B）、DVB-T 、DTMB、DVBC、ISDB and ATSC modulation?|Soukacatv.com In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a modulating signal that typically contains information to be transmitted.

0 notes

glenmenlow · 4 years ago

Text

How To Counter Direct-To-Consumer Threats

Since 2015, the string of veteran retailers like Diesel, Gymboree, Rockport, Brookstone, Payless and others that have filed for bankruptcy, or folded into the sunset, has become a grim infographic.

Sprung from pioneers like eBay, Amazon, and Alibaba, the new direct-to-consumer (DTC) model that feeds enterprises like Warby Parker, Casper mattress, Taylor Stitch, Freshly, Porter Road and others to come, meets consumers face to face on their smartphones and laptops.

The most adept DTC marketers watch their screens in real time, doing A/B tests on the run — the striped shirt versus solid colors, lipstick versus brushes, naked pink versus YInMn blue. They are running BOGOs versus discount codes, pushing for signups and spreading their learning across a spectrum of real time hooks.

Instead of thinking from quarter to quarter or week to week, DTC marketers think moment to moment. Because consumers are shopping moment to moment.

Time has collapsed and a single hesitation can be fatal.

Because of lower marketing costs for newbies entering established markets thanks to a “free” Internet, new DTC contenders have risen in consumer packaged goods, fashion, beauty, home furnishings and virtually every category. Even sleepy categories like mattresses and eyewear got a wakeup call that has turned into a fire alarm. Some traditional brands have burned to the ground.

Direct-to-consumer also threatens shopping malls, as consumers conduct their retail therapy online. (At our house, especially during COVID shutdown, it’s easy to judge stress levels by the number of Amazon and FedEx packages piled at the front door.)

To understand what’s really happening, it’s time to look at the Mother of direct-to-consumer, Amazon dot com. “[Everything] Amazon is doing is data-driven,” writes Cheryl Wischhover in a Vox article. “When they make a decision around the structure of a detail page or the structure of the browsing experience on the site, that’s all been A/B tested.”

“They’re doing 10 different versions, testing, and picking the one that resonates the most with consumers,” says John Ghiorso, founder and CEO of Orca Pacific, a consulting company for companies wanting to sell successfully on Amazon. This has ultimately led to Amazon creating its own products in some verticals, adding to the notion that Brands are dead.

But companies without customers are not Brands, they are simply companies on the shill. Without story, generic products on their own are meaningless. (In traditional terms, Amazon itself is building a house of brands.)

Old habits die hard. Advertising is a cult and it is difficult to get your head out of traditional marketing norms. But when 90% of consumers today view advertising messages as 100% lies, it’s time to reconsider.

The Five-Star Revolution

Without question, everything leans toward feeding five-star reviews. (Do you spend $10 million on a Super Bowl spot? Or $10 million building customer reviews? Don’t ask your advertising agency.)

Getting User reviews impacts everything. Not just product quality, but distribution, doorstep delivery, customer service, and follow ups to make sure customers are happy and (then) nudging your happiest customers to take time to review you.

Following these customer moments is more motivating than tapping conventional customer experience. While convention has been to push product into the pipeline and watch it go, for most companies these days that process isn’t going far enough.

And none of this means flipping your $10 million advertising budget over to Influencers.

Instead, getting terrific reviews might mean fine-tuning your CRM, putting more empathetic hires on your sales floor, updating your packaging, or deep diving into the analytics that influence any and all of these decisions.

One approach is to focus on zealots and potential zealots. Your zealots will inform what’s sticky for them. Potential zealots are the low hanging fruit who can reveal friction points. These two cadres can tighten your focus and reap timely results.

“The people who know how bring together their brand’s true promise with their products in a seamless experience are the ones that win in DTC,” says Peter Sena at Digital Surgeons. “Ultimately the way it comes together is because of Brand. If I can buy it on Amazon, I have no reason to buy direct. The only differentiator is experience.”

Which means that, if direct-to-consumer is hitting you hard, the fundamental reason is you.

IRL (in real life) experiences have become shoddy. Tons of intentional marketing can be derailed by surly or disgruntled floor staff. Brilliant examples of community have risen, been celebrated and then put on autopilot. Just ask Sears.

Brick And Mortar Retail Lives On

But store retailing is by no means over and done.

Japanese shoppers, for example, look forward to the attentive customer service found in their bricks and mortar. So online selling is not catching on for Japanese consumers as rapidly as in the U.S. In fact, there is even a Tower Records (remember them?) selling vinyl records in Tokyo.

South Korean luxury department store The Hyundai, is also upping its game. They asked London-based Universal Everything to invent a series of video artworks for a 30-metre-high LED video wall covering the Hyundai facade in Seoul.

Luxury retailers know they must enthrall, transform and upsell what online shopping cannot provide — a multisensory experience that stimulates and excites shoppers. And brings them back.

One thing is certain: Friction points are personal, omnidirectional and moody. There is no universal solution. Performance marketing with all of its acquisition/retention/resurrection tactics is in your face, annoying and sometimes even unthinking.

Another part of this might be mindset. Direct-to-consumer is more startup, more entrepreneurial minded — these aren’t just keystrokes, they are new companies with new technologies and fresh philosophies. More Tim Ferris than Jim Collins. The go go go entrepreneur is agile, proactive and seeks partnerships, workarounds and intentionally builds to break things. The new world is thinking in terms of bit torrents, the old world is thinking in terms of sales meetings.

Managers, manage. They slog through the heavy burden of hierarchies, existing channels, existing relationships while twisting the handles of pre-existing thinking.

The old is massively disadvantaged by the new.

In the end, these interactions are merely reflective of the changes in consumer habits, IRL changes that anyone who wakes to the slurry of emails, Facebook, Instagram feeds and Amazon Prime (good morning, Alexa!).

The very best companies will design and build an ecosystem that meets their consumer at every possible touch point. They will be online and on the street. They will be multi-channel, multi-sensory and multidirectional. If they survive long enough to try it out.

CUT TO: A small room in a faraway place that could be Bucharest, Dublin, or Trinidad. Wall-mounted computer monitors cover real-time IRL. The screens are panoramic, filled with graphs, charts, streaming numbers, sentiment analyses, click rates, blended data, hot and cool zones. Artificial intelligence and learning engines are both active. Each monitor has its own human, operatives wander between screens. The room is a tumult, voices intent, feverish, shouting numbers. Fingers work keypads. At the back of the room, in a darkened corner, a woman surveils the scene from her leather chair, an oversized iPad on her lap. Her slim fingers shuffle charts across screen geographies. Her head snaps to attention as she looks up and stares at a screen. Her eyes seek outcomes. She barks an order. The room responds. She smiles, reassured. Success. Her face glows as she looks back down at her iPad and moves on. The future is already here.

Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Patrick Hanlon, Author of Primal Branding

The Blake Project Can Help: Get actionable guidance from the experts on Building Brand and Business Meaning

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Growth and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

from WordPress https://glenmenlow.wordpress.com/2020/06/09/how-to-counter-direct-to-consumer-threats/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes

joejstrickl · 4 years ago

Text

How To Counter Direct-To-Consumer Threats

Since 2015, the string of veteran retailers like Diesel, Gymboree, Rockport, Brookstone, Payless and others that have filed for bankruptcy, or folded into the sunset, has become a grim infographic.

Instead of thinking from quarter to quarter or week to week, DTC marketers think moment to moment. Because consumers are shopping moment to moment.

Time has collapsed and a single hesitation can be fatal.

The Five-Star Revolution

Without question, everything leans toward feeding five-star reviews. (Do you spend $10 million on a Super Bowl spot? Or $10 million building customer reviews? Don’t ask your advertising agency.)

And none of this means flipping your $10 million advertising budget over to Influencers.

Which means that, if direct-to-consumer is hitting you hard, the fundamental reason is you.

Brick And Mortar Retail Lives On

But store retailing is by no means over and done.

Luxury retailers know they must enthrall, transform and upsell what online shopping cannot provide — a multisensory experience that stimulates and excites shoppers. And brings them back.

Managers, manage. They slog through the heavy burden of hierarchies, existing channels, existing relationships while twisting the handles of pre-existing thinking.

The old is massively disadvantaged by the new.

Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Patrick Hanlon, Author of Primal Branding

The Blake Project Can Help: Get actionable guidance from the experts on Building Brand and Business Meaning

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Growth and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

0 notes

thechasefiles · 5 years ago

Text

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 24/1/2020

Good Morning #realdreamchasers ! Here is your daily news cap for Friday January 24th, 2020. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Weekend Nation Newspaper (WN).

WEAK PACE OF GROWTH FOR 2020 – Caribbean economist Marla Dukharan expects the Barbados economy to grow this year. But Dukharan, who is chief economist of Barbados-based financial technology company Bitt Inc., said additional reforms were needed “to reverse that weak construction and investment that we are seeing”. She gave the assessment in her Caribbean Economic Outlook 2020, which was released yesterday. It followed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) publication of its latest Global Economic Outlook earlier this week. “The economy is expected to have contracted again last year . . . based on the reforms, especially the fiscal reforms, but we will likely see growth this year, albeit at a weak pace, not exceeding 1.8 per cent through 2024 as predicted by the IMF,” Dukharan said. (WN)

RESIST AMERICAN ASSAULT ON REGION – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders have been urged to be mindful that the United States of America will leave no stone unturned as it seeks to impose its will on smaller and less powerful states in a bid to maintain its dominance in the region. In fact, leading political consultant Peter Wickham and International Relations lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Dr Kristina Hinds, both believe the harsh treatment of Dominica, Venezuela, and Bolivia in recent months is characteristic of the Donald Trump administration’s disregard for the sovereignty of Caribbean and Latin American nations. According to them, it is for this reason that Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s firm stance last weekend against a meeting between U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and select Caribbean leaders was important. In the face of what they have both described as an extension of Trump’s meeting with four Caribbean leaders at his Mar Lago estate in Florida, they have lauded numerous countries including Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, who all opted to boycott the talks held in Jamaica. But the two commentators, in separate interviews, advised that if regional leaders are serious about protecting their countries’ cherished right to self-governance, they must all stand united. Wickham condemned what he believes is an “assault” on the region waged by the U.S through its interference in the leadership of the Organisation of American States (OAS) as well as attempts to undermine Venezuela through that regional organisation. He further pointed to the persistent threat of a military invasion despite CARICOM calls for peace and the US’ meddling in Dominica’s election last December. “We saw an alarming level of interference overtly regarding the US position on [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro and we saw it more recently in Dominica’s election. The American OAS representative spoke openly about issues that he was having with Dominica, which did not have any context within the truth and reality of what was happening on the ground. I am convinced to this day that many of the noises we heard about the Dominican situation were directly related to the American position,” said Wickham. “America needs to understand that a line must be drawn in the sand regarding our level of Independence, our right to self-determination and while we are friends, there has to be a limit. I think they have crossed the line in relation to Venezuela, they have crossed the line in relation to Dominica and essentially that is the signal being sent by Prime Minister Mottley,” Wickham added. “What happened in Dominica serves as a warning to the rest of us regarding the extent to which America will seek to interfere and seek to guide the hand of various Caribbean islands,” the noted political scientist said. “When we are hearing about Russian interference in American elections, we need to be concerned about American interference in our own politics.” Wickham further argued that questions raised about whether Barbados was invited to this week’s meeting with the US official were “inconsequential” in light of Mottley’s principled stand as the Chair of CARICOM. He also rubbished notions that the talks were bilateral on the basis that bilateral negotiations occur between only two countries and where other Caribbean states are involved, the talks become regional. Since then, Pompeo has denied Ms. Mottley’s suggestions that the US is working to divide the 15-member regional group and lauded Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ leadership in the region. Holness further suggested that member-states interested in attending the meetings only needed to ask for an invitation. Meanwhile, for Dr. Hinds, the U.S position is in no way surprising. Though she acknowledged that each state is free to engage the regional powerhouse individually, the international relations specialist warned it would be difficult to do so from a position of strength. She further stressed that recent “overt” attempts by the Trump-administration to influence the region’s policies while isolating some countries should immediately raise red flags. “The United States of America and no other entity should be dictating to CARICOM which members they are talking to. If they are talking to members of CARICOM, they should be speaking with all members and not just a selected group that they choose to engage with, and going forward, I think this is a very useful position if heads of government are interested in giving CARICOM teeth and in allowing the organisation to try to function better as a collective,” suggested Dr. Hinds. “I think as a group of sovereign states that have a level of maturity now in terms of independence, that CARICOM members should be able to say that we want to be dealt with as a collective and in terms that are mutually agreeable to both sides, not just the more powerful countries. She added that the current US position was not merely a Donald Trump position, but was characteristic of the powerhouse’s attitude from as far back as the 19th century. “This is consistent with the foreign policy approach of the US not just to the Caribbean, but to this hemisphere. When we consider the relations between the US and other states, we like to focus on Venezuela but there has been a less than easy relationship when Bolivia had its socialist and left-leaning administrations as well,” she said. (BT)

SUTHERLAND BACK CO-OPS TO PREVENT CANNABIS FARMER’S SHUTOUT – Minister of Small Business Dwight Sutherland has declared he is vehemently opposed to any policy that would see small farmers left out of the soon-to-be-established medicinal marijuana industry. In announcing that licences would be available for purchase by early February, Minister of Agriculture Weir suggested the price of those permits to be issued is likely to be well beyond the reach of “average” Barbadians. But Sutherland has rejected that notion and announced plans to meet with Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir on the issue. The new Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority falls under the farm ministry. In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Sutherland – the Minister for cooperatives – said his ministry would be hoping to facilitate the creation of cooperatives for the cultivation of marijuana, allowing small farmers to pool their resources to purchase the high-priced licences and the five-acre plots of land required by law. President of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Verla DePeiza criticised Weir’s statement, accusing the Government of turning its back on small farmers and deliberately excluding them from the lucrative endeavour. But Sutherland told Barbados TODAY: “I disagree because fundamentally that is why you have the cooperative model.” He disclosed: “We have just started discussions with respect to renewable energy cooperative to give the local and small businesses the reach to become investors in the sector. “The same thing can be done within the medicinal marijuana industry, so I don’t subscribe to that. “I believe there is room for the small man and small business and we have a role to play as the Ministry of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce and in a very short space of time, I will be discussing with the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security how we as a ministry can ensure that our locals have their fair share of wealth creation as it relates to the medicinal marijuana industry.” While it is still currently unclear exactly how expensive the licenses are for the cultivation of medicinal marijuana or how many people have been showing interest, Sutherland declared the cooperative model has been working wonders for small businesses focused on other aspects of farming and believes it can be transferred to the emerging industry. “Right now we have some people preparing to form a cooperative with the black belly sheep and rabbit farming whereby they are looking at the industry of utilising the leather of the sheep to make shoes and other products. “I believe the cooperative model would give the small business reach, whether it is medicinal marijuana, renewable energy or any other business.” (BT)

UK DIPLOMAT: ‘SHAPE UP OR SHIP OUT TO NEWS TECHNOLOGY’ – As technology continues to transform how people get and share news, journalists and communication specialists were today told to keep up or be left behind. British High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Janet Douglas delivered the warning at the start of a two-day digital media workshop at the British High Commission. The Change Your Story workshop forms part of Britain’s wider engagement of Commonwealth countries as it prepares to leave the European Union, the UK diplomat indicated. Pointing out that communication trends had changed dramatically in the past decade and continued to undergo rapid changes, Douglas said it could be “very difficult to keep up”. Douglas said: “The world of journalism and expressing yourself is hugely different now from what it was even ten years ago. “You will find that the technologies have leapt forward so quickly. “Certainly, the way that journalism is done now is something that is completely different from [years ago]. “So the world has changed and as it changes we need, all of us, not just you whose jobs it is to collect and disseminate information and report and comment on events, but us the diplomats in our jobs, we need to be kept abreast at all time with the way the world is communicating.” Douglas said that otherwise, “we lose our audiences and our access”. Douglas said with the UK in a “reengagement process” with the Caribbean, it would be reopening high commissions in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, the Bahamas and St Vincent and the Grenadines. She said: “When the network has been re-established the UK will have the biggest diplomatic network of any country. “It is a great opportunity for the UK to be engaged without European partners, but it is also a great opportunity for the Caribbean.” She promised that following the UK’s exit from the EU, there would be tremendous opportunities for “closer trade and political engagement”. “So we thought that this was a great opportunity as part of our engagement strategy to get a group of you journalists and information specialists together from across the region to talk about how you can harness the new technologies to do your job efficiently and as well as you can,” she said. Media practitioners from Barbados, Guyana and Dominica were given the opportunity to hone their craft and develop new skills in digital media during the UK-funded workshop delivered by Multimedia Trainer and Mobile Journalism Specialist Dan Mason. Workshops will also be held in Grenada, St Kitts and Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia. Reminding the participants that they were advocates for various causes, Mason encouraged them to “look at journalism in different ways, using different tools” while connecting with their audiences. The workshop was designed to improve the capabilities of participants and encourage a solutions-based approach to journalism. The hands-on sessions were particularly based on creating multimedia content using mobile devices, mobile photography, podcasts and video editing on the go. Mason said: “What makes this Change Your Story project so different and so exciting is that we are working with journalists across seven countries. “It is about those journalists collaborating on telling stories for the future that builds capacity both in their own skills and for the region”. The Change Your Story media training comes a week after officers at the Barbados Defence Force successfully completed a Media Operations course, facilitated by retired Colonel Ronnie McCourt of the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.(BT)

BEACH BUMMER – First it was taxi drivers now it is the small beach watersports and recreation operators, who are now claiming that they are being robbed of their share of the tourism pie by the advanced booking systems of large tour companies. Operators have complained bitterly to Barbados TODAY that the tour companies, who transport the bulk of cruise ship passengers, by-pass their businesses, taking their passengers to three major players in the sector. “Right now, it is so unfair to us because we don’t get a crumb. I have invested quite a lot in a lot of fun beach equipment and it is only because I post things on Facebook and word of mouth from persons who go back and tell their friends, that I am able to continue this business. From my understanding, the tour company plans the stops in advance and none of the small beach business are included,” said watersport owner Neilroy Cave who operates his watersport business at Paynes Bay. Another operator, who spoke to Barbados TODAY on condition of anonymity, added, “I have tried to get on the tour schedule with some of these companies, but I keep getting the run around. What we offer is as good as anything Copacabana, Boat Yard or any of bigger guys in the business. However, a source at one of the major tour companies told Barbados TODAY that getting onto to tour schedules was not as simple as these businesses were making it out to be. The company official explained that while they endeavor to include as many attractions as possible, some of these businesses fail to meet the standards of the cruise companies. “We do our best to incorporate as many attractions as possible. On the west coast most of the major attractions are included. People come to us all of the time asking to be on our schedule and we would send someone to their location to assess the attraction. But the reality is that the cruise sector demands that our tours are fully insured, and this means that the attractions we take our guests to must be insured as well. Many of the small watersport attractions can’t afford this,” the source said. In recent years taxi operators at the seaport have complained that tour companies have been drastically cutting into their business. Last May, President of the Bridgetown Port Taxi Co-Op Society Ltd Adrian Bayley lamented taxi operators that operators were receiving 20 per cent of the business from cruise arrivals, leaving them at a disadvantage. “They have cut into a large proportion of our work. These coaches are directly involved in day-to-day tours of Barbados [and] they are still doing the transfers to and from the airport,” Bayley said. He noted that in 2003 the percentage of coaches to taxi operators providing transportation services was 60:40, however, it dramatically changed with coaches providing 80 per cent of the transportation services at the seaport and airport. He stated that the unfair divide has resulted in intense competition between members and non-members of the association and taxi operators offering innovative tour packages to visitors. “We created a basic niche where we would have offered ten passengers or 15 passengers in a ZM vehicle to do an island tour, shopping, and beach,” Bayley revealed. However, water sport operators are also pointing the accusing finger at the taxis, telling Barbados TODAY that the taxis were also taking their passengers to the larger beach businesses. “These taxis are getting cut out by bigger businesses but instead of joining together with their fellow sufferers, they take the passengers that they manage to get to the same big businesses that don’t care about their survival. They [leave] out the small man, who suffering just like them, because the big beach places giving them free food and drinks whenever they bring passengers,” said Cave. He further stressed, “This is the reason that we can’t get anywhere as small businesses because we have no idea how to work together. (BT)

MINISTER URGES NEIGHBOUR CHECKS - On the heels of the tragic death of 81-year-old Inez Mabel Fields who lived alone at Newbury, St George, Minister of Elder Affairs and People Empowerment Cynthia Forde is urging senior citizens to refrain from using kerosene oil lamps. Noting that she was waiting on word regarding the source of the blaze that killed Fields in the wee hours of last Saturday morning, Forde told Barbados TODAY that relatives and caretakers need to play their role in ensuring that elderly folks do not use oil lamps nor candles in the house. “Sometimes the candle would be burning, a gust of wind would blow and the curtains are blowing on the candle. And when that happens there is a fire in the house and you can’t get out. “When a tragedy like that occurs, you panic and you can’t even get the door unlocked if you have the key in your hand. I would advise all seniors to make sure the gas bottle head is taken off when they are not using it and make sure there are no candles burning,” Forde said.Fields’ only child Anderson told Barbados TODAY that he had made several attempts to stop his mother from using the kerosene lamp. The grieving son, like Forde, is also waiting on word from officials on the possible cause of the blaze. Meanwhile, the St Thomas Member of Parliament said she believed it was time Barbadians truly become their brother’s keeper once again, noting that it was time to get back to the love and kindness that permeated society in the 1900’s. She said there were too many instances where people, particularly the elderly and disabled, are living alone with hardly anyone checking in on them daily. “I am asking that Barbadians make a special effort to at least say hello and look out for your neighbour, whether old or young because these are strange times. There was no comfort for me when that grandmother and the child were found days after in their house and their bodies decomposing. “So I am imploring Barbadians to reach out and touch because none of us knows when the day will come when we too will become old and when we do we may come down with some kind of dementia or disease when we would need that kind of help,” she said. The Minister suggested that unless Barbadians return to the culture where neighbours look out for each other, then we would not succeed in achieving a people first society. “We owe it to ourselves and the pride that our foreparents developed for us, to be able to say that we are a proud people who love and care for ourselves in the same way that we do for our neighbours. And the Bible tells us to love thy neighbour as thy self and do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” she said. (BT)

PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLIES MUST TRULY EMPOWER COMMUNITIES – For any form of local government to work, it must involve all members of a community working together – particularly area tradespeople – to achieve its goals and rekindle the community spirit that Barbados has lost in recent years, social activist Robert Bobby Clarke has declared. The veteran lawyer made the comment as he addressed the latest Thorne Commission town hall meeting on the Government’s proposed People’s Assemblies. “The communities themselves should look at all the needs they have, including road repairs, school building repairs, old persons that should be tended to on a weekly or monthly basis by people or families in the community and we should take the names and addresses of the close family members of these older persons,” Clarke said. He also advocated for a list of tradespeople in the community who can be called upon to do house repairs and other matters that sometimes took Government agencies months to fix. “There should be a list of all the people with talent, such as carpenters, masons, electricians and plumbers who can be called upon immediately if there is a problem in the community,” he said. When asked how this would be managed, Clarke told the commission: “We hope people will give of their time freely, but in terms of funding, the assemblies should be able to put their position to the central Government, that is, send in an estimate of the costs associated with the kind of work required and the Government would release the funds accordingly. “Ideally the funding should come from within the community itself, with Government only getting involved when it comes to bigger projects.” He said the assemblies should also budget for a central office within their communities, with staff and the requisite equipment, and that community meetings should involve everyone from children to the elderly, “so that everyone can feel that community spirit again, which was alive in our great grandparents’ day but has gone missing in the last 30 years”. But he expressed disappointment at the low turnout to the meeting, saying that for the assemblies to work, any meetings held should attract bigger audiences so they can do their jobs more effectively. (BT)

BCD ‘WE’RE ABOVE BOARD ‘ – In the wake of a deregistration scare, the Barbados Council for the Disabled (BCD) has given an assurance that the nonprofit organisation remains committed to being fully transparent and accountable in its operations. In a statement on the risk of BCD being removed from the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office’s (CAIPO) published list of charities at risk, BCD president Kerryann Ifill sought to reinforce that the council would continue to work with Government and its agencies to ensure Barbados remains safe from money laundering and other white-collar crimes. Ifill explained that after appearing on the list published on December 3 2019, the registered charity #371 subsequently completed all requirements and has received a full compliance notice from CAIPO, a division of the Ministry of International Business. She said that while it was regrettable that the council’s name was not on the list, each year without exception the BCD has filed its annual return, audited financial statements and all other required documentation. Ifill said: “However, in August of 2019, CAIPO issued a survey which some organizations, including BCD did not receive. “This survey was acquired and has now been completed. With completion of this document and reviewing our files at CAIPO, the council is fully compliant. “We take this opportunity to thank our affiliates partners and sponsors for their trust in our good governance and transparency. “We assure you that we will continue to make every effort to ensure that we keep excellent records. We urge every organisation to ensure that they do the same.” (BT)

MUSLIMS WEIGH IN ON CRIME – Members of the local religious community are deeply concerned by the persistent gun violence affecting the island, particularly in inner-city communities where many of their members live. So says Dr Abdul Mohammed, President of the Barbados Muslim Association amid continuous reports of violence and gunplay particularly in the neighbouring New Orleans and Chapman Lane communities. But while some residents called for heavier police and military presence in the area, the religious leader has pledged the support of local Muslims in the fight to take the communities through more constructive approaches. Last year, a number of people were shot and killed in and around the community while several others have been injured. On January 14th, the community of New Orleans, St. Michael was flooded with heavily-armed officers from the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF) as a popular liming spot was sprayed with bullets during a midday drive-by shooting. While in the community, residents revealed that it was not the first time for the year such an incident had occurred as many, including bystanders, were forced to take cover in their homes as a gun battle raged on the streets outside. Days ago, on January 20th, Jerome Stuart, 23, of 8th Avenue, New Orleans and Triston Akeem Alexander of #13 Groves Cottage, St George, were injured during a shooting at the nearby community of Greenfield. “It is a concerning, because quite often when we hear [the gunplay], it is right around the corner from us and we sometimes hear the commotion and the gunshots. We do recognise that it is most likely not widespread or random but more within certain groups, organised crime etcetera,” said Dr. Mohammed. He however added: “But at the end of the day, you never know who the innocent bystanders will be as happens quite often. So we as a Muslim community can’t really isolate ourselves and say that it’s not affecting us, because if it happens in our community, we are vulnerable.” In response to one of the most recent incidents of gun violence, residents in New Orleans told Barbados TODAY they were waiting desperately on the Attorney General, Dale Marshall to keep a promise to tackle the issues made almost a year ago and called on authorities to send in the army. However, Dr. Mohammed said while law enforcement officials performed their duties, Muslim leaders would focus on community interventions to keep youth out of trouble while attempting to provide alternatives to those living a life of crime. “We tackle these problems with two approaches. On one hand, in our schools and our sessions in the mosque and on the other, by keeping the youth engaged, because it is okay to talk and say what they should and should not do, but they need to be educated on the do’s and don’ts as well as the pitfalls of society,” explained the association’s president. He added: “We have been integrated into the community for decades and with a playing field just around the corner from the mosque here at Kensington New Road, we host a lot of football tournaments that Muslims and non-muslims play in together. “Specifically, in our community, some of our Imans hosts all-day vacation events and competitions including cricket, football, road tennis and stuff to keep the young people engaged, because naturally speaking, the youth will find something to do. It’s either you find something for them to do or they will find something to do, so we push a lot of structured programmes to keep them occupied and engaged.” (BT)

NOT MUTINY – A former public relations officer of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), who has led the way into forcing a no-confidence motion against president Sean Spencer, is hoping a special general meeting of the union can be fast-tracked. Dwayne Goddard wants the special meeting convened quickly and well within the alloted 28 days under the BUT’s constitution, after a necessary 20 signatures were handed over on Wednesday to general secretary Herbert Gittens. The letter, accompanied by the signatures, requested the no-confidence motion be placed on the special meeting’s agenda as a matter of urgency. Yesterday, Goddard said the intention was not to start a mutiny within the BUT, but to force the Spencer-led executive to realise that the membership actually ran the organisation, and its executive should be guiding policies brought about by them.(WN)

SMITH WANTS ERT TO HEAR HER CASE AGAINST FORMER EMPLOYER – Embattled General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Roslyn Smith could soon be headed to the Employment Rights Tribunal (ERT) to have it adjudicate her claims of unfair dismissal by the NUPW. Smith’s industrial relations advisor Senator Caswell Franklyn this afternoon served notice that the only option left now was to turn the dispute over to the tribunal following protracted talks at the Labour Department level, and the refusal of the union’s Executive Council to meet with Smith and her team. “The Chief Labour Officer proposes to continue the conciliation. I see no benefit in that…it will serve no useful purpose. So I want the matter to go to the tribunal to let the tribunal decide,” Franklyn, who is General Secretary of the Unity Trade Union (UTU) told Barbados TODAY. Asked if he had taken any action to have the case lodged with the ERT, the Opposition legislator replied: “The Chief Labour Officer (Claudette Hope-Greenidge) is the only person who can send it to the tribunal. But she wants to continue this talk shop nonsense. I am not minded to.” “Roslyn [Smith] had proposed to meet with the council of the union; and we got a message through the Chief Labour Officer that the union has rejected that. So they don’t want to meet with us to discuss the matter,” the veteran trade union leader added. When contacted, Acting General Secretary Delcia Burke admitted that the union’s council had in fact refused to meet with Smith and her team. “Yes, it is true. They had asked for a meeting and the council said they had sent us a representative [at the level of the Labour Department] so it was not necessary,” Burke explained. However, she insisted that the union’s delegation has been turning up to all of the meetings scheduled with the Chief Labour Officer. “Every meeting that was agreed to…that was arranged, we went to,” Burke said. The acting general secretary also addressed the reason for the long delay in reaching a settlement. “The union is saying that she [Smith] retired when she reached the age that she agreed to [but] she is saying she was terminated. So we are at a standstill. We have been meeting with the Labour Department. We will continue to meet with them to see if we can come to a resolution,” she stated. The union which Smith had served for 47 years announced in July last year, that it had retired her effective March 31, 2019 after an extension from October 1, 2018. Smith, who had been a patient at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) from December 2018, to July 2019, had submitted a request for a leave extension in a letter dated March 15, 2019. At the time, union president Akanni McDowall said a decision on the matter should be deferred to the union’s incoming executive committee and national council. However, in the NUPW’s statement in July, it was noted that Smith was given a previous extension and would now be retired. “The NUPW announces that Roslyn Smith has retired after 47 years of service. Sister Smith’s retirement would have commenced on October 1, 2018. National Council decided to grant an extension of her employment to March 31, 2019,” the union’s statement said then. Some five days after the union officially announced her retirement, Smith alleged unfair dismissal and is claiming close to half million dollars in compensation. Persistent efforts to reach the Chief Labour Officer proved futile and when contacted Smith referred Barbados TODAY to Franklyn. (BT)

ALLEGED KIDNAPPER HELD – When a 52-year-old man appeared in District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court yesterday he was granted bail on an assault charge which allegedly occurred in December last year. Today Ricardo Juan Johnson, of Free Hill, Black Rock, Michael returned before the same magistrate charged that on January 20 he unlawfully removed Mechelle Jarvis, the same woman he is accused of assaulting, from Free Hill without her consent. He was not required to plead to the charge as it is indictable. This was followed by objections from the prosecution to his bail. Sergeant Vernon Waithe stated that the kidnapping allegation occurred when there was a protection order enforced and the complainant needed to be protected from the accused. “Remanding the accused will ensure there is some degree of peace,” said Waithe who also pointed to an antecedent of the accused as well as the nature and seriousness of the offence. However, attorney-at-law Rita Evans appearing with legal counsel Althea Chapman-Carmichael stated that the accused was a good candidate for bail. Evans argued that her client was before the court as recently as yesterday and was still in the very same clothes when he appeared then. She also took issue with the date of the charge sheet proffered against him. “The date of this charge sheet is January 22 for an offence on January 20. The accused was not given the opportunity to go home and get his belongings from the dwelling which he shares with the complainant as ordered by the court,” the attorney said adding that her client’s antecedent did not relate to the same person. The lawyer submitted that strict conditions could be set as the prosecution did not say that the accused would abscond if released. After listening to the two sides Magistrate Douglas Frederick made it clear that the kidnapping allegation was not in the “equation” the day before and asked the prosecution why the charge was not brought before the court yesterday. Waithe explained that when the charge first came there were facts attached to the protection order and “we realised it could not go like this. It could not come like this and as a result we engaged the Family Conflict Unit who would have spoken to Inspector Brewster who then gave certain instructions”. He said as a result Johnson appeared in court today. But the magistrate stated that he was not aware of such an allegation when he dealt with yesterday’s case and “out of an abundance of caution” would remand Johnson. “I don’t want this to escalate . . .This is far more serious than what was alleged yesterday,” the magistrate stated as he urged the complainant who had previously informed the court that she would vacate the shared house by February 28 to make the necessary arrangements to move up the timeline. In the meantime Johnson has been remanded until February 20. (BT)

DRUGS DID IT – Shane Rene Bartlett today blamed “dope” for his criminal actions saying it sent him “wild”. The 36-year-old, of no fixed place of abode, gave the explanation to Magistrate Douglas Frederick today moments after pleading guilty to several charges. He admitted that on December 31, 2019 he stole a battery pack worth $1,300 and a drill machine worth $250 and eight spanners costing $100 belonging to Neil Leonard and also unlawfully assaulted him. He however could not plead to the indictable charge that he threatened to burn Leonard’s house. However, he said he was the one who entered Chetamra’s as a trespasser between January 17 and 18 and stole a cash register worth $450, an assortment of drinks as well as nuts, chips and cookies totaling $596 belonging to Cheryl Lovell. Bartlett also confessed to entering the house of David Cadogan as a trespasser on January 8 and stealing a laptop worth $1,000, two pairs of shoes worth $950, 16 beverages worth $32.75 belonging to the homeowner and BDS$5 belonging to Shimico Hunte. After the facts of the cases were detailed the accused addressed the court. He said: “It was a long time before I got in trouble. This here happened when I was introduced to dope for the first time about a month or so… Man that there sent me wild man.” Magistrate Frederick reminded him that he had been committing similar offences for a number of years. “Back in 2013 I was under the influence of alcohol that kind of thing. But the dope sent me wild man,” Bartlett said before he was sentenced to 18 months in prison on the Chetamra burglary and three months to run consecutively for assaulting Leonard. He was also given nine months in prison for stealing Leonard’s battery pack and drill but that sentence will run concurrently with the others. The convicted man will reappear in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on February 20 on the indictable threat charge. (BT)

MAN SENTENCED ON SEVEN YEAR OLD CHARGE – Using an illegal firearm and inflicting serious bodily harm on an ice-cream man has resulted in a 12-year jail sentence for a St Michael man. However, Javere Dillion Antonio Yarde, of Block C2 Field Place only has 502 days left to serve on that sentence imposed by Justice Randall Worrell. Yarde alias Big Head had previously pleaded guilty to the two offences committed on July 17, 2013 as well as robbing the ice cream man, Curtis Hayde, of a chain and pendant worth $1,300. In handing down the sentence today Justice Worrell told Yarde that Hayde was going about his daily routine trying to make an honest living when he was pounced upon. He told the convicted man that he could have been before the court on a more serious charge. Pointing to the aggravating features of the case he said Yarde armed himself with an illegal gun and discharged the firearm injuring someone during a robbery. “This did not happen on the spur of the moment. . . .You were trying to feed a drug habit [but] that is no excuse”. The judge stated he could find “absolutely no” mitigating factors. The court took note of Yarde’s age and the fact that he is still a young man who was only 19 at the time he committed the offences. “The principle of rehabilitation has to take place in relation to you. You were remorseful from the onset and wanted to plead guilty.” Justice Worrell then deducted a third from the 12-year sentence for the guilty plea leaving Yarde with a nine-year prison term. Time was also taken into consideration for the delay in getting his case before the assizes and two sentences he had already served, leaving the convict with seven years or 2555 days. But Yarde has spent a majority of that time on remand – some 2,053 days – leaving him with 502 more days in jail. He was convicted, reprimanded and discharged on the robbery charge. While he is behind bars at HMP Dodds Yarde has been ordered to undergo drug rehabilitation and counseling and must return before the No. 2 Supreme Court for a review. (BT)

THIEF PLEADS TO BE SENT TO PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL –THIEF PLEADS TO BE SENT TO PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL – When Dwight Dwayne Greene stepped into the dock of the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court this afternoon he declared to Magistrate Douglas Frederick “I am back here with you”. The 29-year-old, of Wavell Avenue, Black Rock, St Michael also said, “You give me the motivation to stay out there.” However, his stint away from the law court was not long enough as he triggered the prison sentence attached to a bond on which he had been placed. Greene pleaded guilty to stealing a $331.23 tool kit and a $45.72 coffee grinder belonging to Carters and Company Limited on January 22. Station Sergeant Crishna Graham said an employee saw Greene placing items in a backpack that he had with him. The supervisor was informed and police called in. A search was conducted and the items were discovered. In explaining himself Greene told Magistrate Frederick that while he had done the act he only now realised that he had done folly. “I am a really Godly person. I don’t like being in these things . . . . I am very, very sorry. I should have think before I do the action. “It’s only when you go to the police station and the courthouse you does realise you didn’t have to do these things you know, only after it done do,’ Greene said. The magistrate informed him that with his guilty plea he had breached a six-month bond imposed on him which carried an alternative of a $1,500 fine or three months in prison. The convicted man said he could not pay the amount triggering the three-month sentence. Pointing out that he had already found himself in trouble for stealing from the same business, the magistrate told Greene: “You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over. I gave you a chance the last time.” A six-month sentence was then imposed to run concurrently. It was at that time that Greene started to plead to go to the Psychiatric Hospital. “You know what it is to be among all these prisoners. These people does beat me,” he claimed as he was escorted out of the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court. (BT)

TEEN’S DEATH BRINGS TOGETHER HUNDREDS - Despite succumbing to cancer, warrior princess Niamh Soraya Stoute’s fight was not in vain. Niamh, who would have celebrated her 17th birthday today, was laid to rest following a moving ceremony at the Abundant Life Assembly. The former student of the Christ Church Foundation School lost her battle with neuroblastoma on January 14. While those who gathered to pay their final respects donned bright colours, Niamh’s family members and close friends wore blue, one of Niamh’s favourite colours. Delivering the sermon to the hundreds who packed the church at Bank Hall, St Michael including Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Donna Babb-Agard; Ministers Kirk Humphrey and Wilfred Abrahams and Justices Barry Carrington and Cicely Chase, Reverend Kevin Hunte said that while Niamh’s stay on earth was not lengthy, her death was purposeful. Family and friends gathered at the Abundant Life Assembly to pay their final respects to Niamh Stoute (inset). “…Each and everyone of us was born with a purpose and for some reason Niamh’s purpose was to carry this illness. And in carrying this illness she achieved something extremely powerful and I want the young people in here to listen closely; she achieved the ability to bring all of us together in this place, on her birthday to contemplate when our time comes to pass through death’s door,” the reverend explained. “God used her sickness and her eventual death to cause all of us whom he loves to sit here this afternoon and to begin to ask ourselves some internal questions…Niamh made her calling and her election sure, but what about you?” The reverend urged those present to take a leaf from her book. He said even through sickness Niamh never faltered or complained and never gave up hope. Hunte said it was no surprise to learn that her favourite book in the Bible was Job. “I want to tell you that we can learn from Niamh because Niamh picked up her cross and she embraced it. Many of us, including me, would have been grumbling and complaining and some of us may even have done what Job’s wife wanted him to do, curse God and just die, but Niamh instead worshipped and praised…she expressed faith in God,” the reverend contended. “That warrior princess picked up her cross of sickness and cancer and she carried it from birth to death and she did it with dignity, grace and strength of character, to bring all of us here to this moment today.” He reminded the congregation that God’s love transcended death. In an emotional tribute to her daughter, Petra Gooding said she had lost her first true love and her best friend. She recalled how they enjoyed eating popcorn and watching movies together, and browsing through social media site Instagram. She revealed that Niamh had fought valiantly till the end and had showed superhuman strength throughout the ordeal. “People have always said that I was strong, but I was strong because of her. You never really know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have, but I had to be strong for her. “Niamh was confident, resilient and loved a challenge. She was beautiful inside and out,” she noted. Niamh’s father Dale Stoute delivered the eulogy, revealing that his daughter had been diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma at the tender age of six. He said despite this she had a bubbly personality and loved travelling, sneakers, taking photos and outings with her friends. Even in her situation, he said Niamh was a giving person who was always willing to make sacrifices. According to him even when the cancer returned in 2009, she never allowed it to get the best of her. “Having Niamh here for another ten years after her initial diagnosis was nothing short of a miracle,” he said. He also used the opportunity to thank everyone who supported his daughter, including those who made donations and offered inspiring words to the family, as well as nurses and doctors who attended to her during her stay at several children’s hospitals. Niamh was laid to rest at the Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens. (BT)

There are 342 days left in the year Shalom! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps #bajannewscaps #newsinanutshell

0 notes

martin9395 · 6 years ago

Audio

Digital advertising and marketing services incorporate a wide array of networks. Among these, net is the primary electronic media and is most popular. The other networks are mobile, CD-ROM, DVD and comparable physical multimedias.

On-line digital advertising solutions comprise of internet sites, e-mail, streaming video clip & audio, social book marking, online search engine advertising and marketing as well as RSS feed.

Websites are exceptionally prominent for electronic marketing. Generally, web sites act as signboards on the digital highway. Banner ads on websites used to be the approved way to attract clients till Internet 2.0 as well as interactivity occurred. Today, banners can be transformed according to where the web pages are being offered. These geo-targeted banner advertisements vary from area to location. For example, a person in London might see a different banner ad from one who remains in Chicago, though both are checking out the very same web site. These highly targeted banner ads are served with electronic marketing services that concentrate on providing banner advertisements worldwide.

Internet search engine results are undoubtedly the most prominent electronic advertising and marketing services offered on the internet. Google AdWords has revolutionized the method whole world promotes today. These services supply well targeted as well as concentrated promotions. Its appeal originates from the fact that AdWords campaigns can be modified and also changed on the fly without any financial investment as well as the outcomes can be actively determined on a daily basis. Undoubtedly, the advertisers pay only when consumers or future leads click on their advertisements. This is called ppc or Pay Per Click campaign. There are other carriers like Microsoft Bing that additionally supply similar services, though they are not yet as prominent as Google AdWords.

E-mails through pamphlets, e-newsletters and also opt-in checklists are hugely popular. There is a whole market committed to this kind of digital advertising solutions. Nonetheless, lately, spamming and black lists have wetted the excitement for email advertising and marketing. Privacy concerns have actually led to federal government authorities establishing regulations against unrequested emails. Opt-in checklists have mushroomed to stay clear of personal privacy problems. The major advantage of e-mails as a kind of digital marketing is the reach. In addition, one could provide prompt details regarding the product or services at really inexpensive. In the last evaluation, the usage or misuse of e-mails could only be identified by individual companies and also customers.

On the internet video clip solutions like YouTube have taken the electronic advertising and marketing globe by storm. On a daily basis thousands of videos are published and seen by millions. One could produce a reasonably great video with the use of low cost tools. Below titles and other effects can be included in the video using totally free online services. Not remarkably, huge advertising and marketing firms in addition to people are profiting from such amazing electronic advertising and marketing services.

Social websites like Facebook and also MySpace are rapid becoming prominent electronic advertising media. Viral advertising has actually established the online marketing globe ablaze. Inning accordance with records, the demographics of social websites are vast adequate to provide for all age teams. The concern of taming this phenomenon as well as harnessing it to ones advantage is the primary obstacle encountering the electronic advertising globe.

Visit

https://soundcloud.com/alexandra-barnett-450109145/graphic-design

0 notes

bearishmitch · 6 years ago

Text

The Week that Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma - Budgets, Healthcare, and Mobiles

This past week's offering of Insights across ASEAN@Smartkarma is filled with another eclectic mix of differentiated, substantive and actionable insights from across South East Asia and includes macro, top-down and thematic pieces, as well as actionable equity bottom-up pieces. Please find a brief summary below, with a fuller write up in the detailed section.

Macro Insights

In Indonesia: Budget 2019 - A Prudent Mix of Conservative and Populist Budgeting, Manu Bhaskaran assesses Indonesia's recently released 2019 Budget.

In Indonesian Politics Weekly: Anti-Widodo Protests Lack Traction; Oz Trade Deal Done; Steady Poll Data, political insight provider Kevin O’Rourke provides his value-added commentary on political developments in Indonesia over the past week.

In his insight, Thailand: Solid Growth, Monetary Tightening and Greater Political Clarity, Jason Tan lays out his views on the Thai economy in 2018.

In Malaysia: Political Storm Clouds Gather, Manu Bhaskaran comments on the rising political risk in Indonesia as PM Mahathir starts to stamp his mark.

In the Philippines: Spotlight on Growth - Not Returns, Philippines economist Jun Trinidad lays out his views on Asia third fastest growing economy.

In Philippine GDP: Speed Bump Ahead While Positioning for a 4Q Recovery, assesses the outlook for growth in the Philippines for the rest of the year.

Equity Bottom-Up Insights

In Capitaland Mall Trust to Fully Acquire Westgate, Anni Kum comments on the Capitaland Mall Trust (CT SP) 's decision to fully acquire Westgate.

In Wheelock Properties - Not Trading Like It Wants To Go at S$2.10, Travis Lundy looks at the ongoing debate over the privatisation of Wheelock Properties (S) (WP SP).

In Univentures: Refocusing on Low Rise & Condos Closer To Skytrain Stations, Thai guru Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA looks at Univentures Public (UV TB), the flagship property company of Charoen's TCC empire.

In Eagle High Plantations (BWPT IJ) - A Production Frenzy, former Jakartan Angus Mackintosh revisits this plantation company following a conversation with management some very strong production figures.

In Erajaya (ERAA): The New Era Will Last, Henry Soediarko takes a look at the leading mobile phone distributor and retailer in Indonesia and come away convinced that the growth story remains intact.

In PT Prodia Widya Husada (PRDA IJ) - Promoting Wellness in Indonesia, Angus Mackintosh writes on Indonesia's leading diagnostic labs player, which is rapidly transforming itself into a broader healthcare play, with a focus on preventive medicine.

In SYNEX: Global Standard IT Provider Eyes Digital Change Goldmine, our friends at Country Group initiate coverage on Synnex Thailand (SYNEX TB).

In Bangkok Air: More Turbulence Ahead, Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA writes on Bangkok Airways (BA TB) following a meeting with the company.

In ADVANC (ADVANC TB): Half of Thailand Uses AIS’ Mobile Services, Dr. Andrew Stotz, CFA works his magic on leading mobile operator Advanced Info Service (ADVANC TB).

In ESR-REIT and VIVA IT Unitholders Approve Their Merger, Travis Lundy looks at Singapore's first REIT merger to date and expects more to come.

Sector and Thematic Insights

In Interesting Stocks to Consider in Thailand, Dr. Andrew Stotz, CFA highlights 14 stocks in Thailand that look interesting to him based upon his FVMR Methodology. His research team constantly reviews the Thai market to try to find interesting ideas base upon Fundamentals or Valuation or Momentum or Risk or some combination thereof.

» Get straight t source https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/the-week-that-was-in-asean-smartkarma-budgets-healthcare-and-mobiles?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=RSS

#RESEARCH #BEARISH #INVESTMENTS #SMARTKARMA RESEARCH

0 notes

simply-intense · 2 months ago

Text

Unlocking Digital Success With Simply Intense : Top Digital Marketing Trends for Trinidad

The Shift to Personalization

One of the most significant trends in digital marketing is the shift toward personalization. Customers today expect brands to understand their needs and preferences. Personalization can include everything from tailored emails to customized product recommendations. This approach helps businesses connect on a deeper level with their audience, fostering loyalty and encouraging repeat business.

Simply Intense emphasizes the importance of creating personalized experiences for customers. By analyzing data and understanding customer behavior, businesses in Trinidad can tailor their marketing efforts. This not only enhances the customer experience but also drives sales.

The Increase in Video Content

Using video content is another trend that is becoming more popular. Videos are interesting and efficient in communicating ideas. Instagram Reels and TikTok are two examples of platforms that have popularized short, attention-grabbing videos. Companies can take advantage of this trend to present their goods, share their narratives, and establish a pleasant and interesting connection with their audience. Trinidad is a creative hub where businesses may create original video content that appeals to local consumers. Simply Intense assists companies in creating engaging video marketing campaigns that inform viewers about their goods and services while also providing entertainment.

Accepting Influence from Social Media

Social media is still a very effective digital marketing instrument. Through social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, marketers can communicate directly with consumers. Influencer marketing is a particularly notable trend. Working with regional influencers can help companies become more credible and reach a larger audience. In Trinidad, influencers have a big impact because of the strong communal links. They can help companies establish a more sympathetic first impression with potential clients by introducing things in an approachable manner. Simply Intense understands the importance of this strategy and helps brands choose the ideal influencers to spread their message.

The Significance of SEO

Another essential component of digital marketing is search engine optimization (SEO). It guarantees that a company’s website appears highly on search engines such as Google. Reaching potential clients and drawing in organic traffic require this. Content optimization for voice search and local searches is becoming more popular, which is particularly important for Trinidadian enterprises. Businesses can attract clients who are looking for goods and services in their area by concentrating on local SEO tactics. Simply Intense, a agency for Digital Marketing in Trinidad offers advice on content and website optimization, assisting companies in making a lasting impression on local customers and search engine rankings.

Making Use of Data Analytics

Digital marketing is changing how organizations approach the platform thanks to data analytics. Businesses can make well-informed judgments regarding their marketing strategies by examining client data. With the help of this trend, businesses can better focus their ads and increase return on investment by learning what works and what doesn’t. Utilizing data might give firms in Trinidad a competitive edge because they frequently encounter particular obstacles. Simply Intense provides Transformative Marketing tips with data collection and analysis tools and tactics to make sure their marketing campaigns are efficient and meet customer expectations.

Using Automation and AI

Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming essential components of digital marketing. These tools can offer insightful data, expedite procedures, and enhance customer service. For example, chatbots can respond to consumer questions around-the-clock, improving the user experience. Businesses in Trinidad may manage their marketing campaigns more effectively by implementing AI. We promote the use of these technologies to raise customer happiness and engagement levels, freeing up companies to concentrate on developing connections rather than being mired in paperwork.

Utilizing Content Marketing to Build Communities

The goal of content marketing is to provide insightful and timely information that draws in and keeps users interested. This trend is all about creating a brand community and telling stories. Content marketing can assist firms in establishing a personal connection with their audience in Trinidad, where culture and community are highly valued. Simply Intense invites brands to use blogs, articles, and social media pieces to share their experiences, learnings, and expertise. By doing this, companies may build a devoted clientele and position themselves as leaders in their respective industries.

Mobile Optimization’s Power

Websites and marketing tactics must be mobile-friendly as more people access the internet through mobile devices. Given the increasing use of mobile devices in Trinidad, this development is particularly significant there. Conversion rates can be greatly increased and the user experience is improved by a mobile-friendly website. We assist companies in ensuring their online presence is mobile-friendly, enabling potential clients to easily browse and shop from their devices.

Final Thoughts

#Digital Marketing #Simply Intense #Digital Marketing Trends #Digital Marketing In Trinidad #Transformative Marketing

0 notes

simplyintense · 2 years ago

Photo

Creative power for your brand Advertising Agency, Digital Marketing Enterprise, Social Media Storytelling Production Emerging tech for your business Digital Transformation Enterprise Digital Solutions Big Data & Predictive Analytics.

#Social Media Marketing Services Trinidad #Digital Transformation Services Company Trinidad #Advertising Company Trinidad #Online Marketing Services Company Trinidad #Best Digital Advertising Agency in Trinidad

0 notes

simplyintense · 3 years ago

Photo

Our Digital Transformation team holds decades of experience across product research, design thinking, digital solutions, web, and mobile app development, Learn More Services We are passionate about creative projects that help businesses connect in unique ways to their target. https://simplyintense.com/digital/

#digital transformation services #Advertising Company Trinidad #Mobile Apps Development Trinidad #Best Digital Advertising Agency in Trinidad

0 notes

simplyintense · 3 years ago

Photo

Digital Transformation Services Company Trinidad | Simply Intense Our Digital Transformation team holds decades of experience across product research, design thinking, digital solutions, web, and mobile app development, Learn More Services We are passionate about creative projects that help businesses connect in unique ways to their target.

#digital transformation services #Digital Marketing Agency Trinidad #social media services #Mobile Apps Development Trinidad

1 note · View note

thechasefiles · 5 years ago

Text

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 6/7/2019

Good MORNING #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Friday 7th June 2019. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT), Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) or by purchasing a Weekend Nation Newspaper (WN).

TURN TO THE US DOLLAR, SAYS FORMER GOVERNOR – A former central bank governor is calling for Barbados and other Caribbean countries to “retire” their currency and start using US dollars. Arguing that the currencies of the Caribbean have now outlived their usefulness and have become a liability, economist Dr DeLisle Worrell said there were no longer benefits to regional economies having their own currency. “The local currencies could be entirely redeemed by central banks by purchasing and importing US currency notes and coins, using their existing foreign reserve balances,” Worrell said as he outlined how to retire the local currency in his June newsletter. “Central banks and monetary authorities in the Caribbean all have foreign reserves sufficient to purchase US notes and coins to replace the full issue of local currency at prevailing exchange rates,” he said. In his paper, Worrell named Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Curacao, Dominica Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago as the countries that should retire their currencies. He explained that once the currencies were purchased using the countries’ foreign reserves, all deposits and other liabilities of the banking system would be held in digital record, and be matched by an equal amount of credit and other assets, also held in digital form. “All that would be required for these balances is to convert both sides of the balance sheet from local currency to the US dollar equivalent at the prevailing exchange rate,” he said. The former Central Bank of Barbados head argued that the regional currencies were devised at a time when most payments were made using notes and coins, issued in distant metropolitan centres. He said scarcity of the means of payment was a severe hindrance to commerce and in response, currency boards were set up to issue local currency as needed in the colonies. He said for a while that system worked well because the local currency was backed by an equivalent value of Sterling. “In contrast, nowadays payments are made mostly by electronic communication, credit and debit cards, cheques and drafts, with settlement over digitized bank accounts,” he said. “In today’s world an own currency has become a liability for small economies, limiting access to international goods and services, exposing residents to risks of currency devaluation and inflation, eroding the value of domestic savings, increasing economic and diverting attention from the need to increase productivity and enhance international competitiveness,” he said. Further describing the currencies in the region as “a nuisance” in today’s world, Worrell said “The world of commerce and finance today bears no resemblance to the world in which Caribbean currencies were devised.” He pointed to Panama and Ecuador, who have undergone “full dollarization” by abandoning their currencies and replacing them with the US dollar. (BT)

RERE PROJECT IS ON – Government’s re-tooling and re-training of retrenched workers sent home under the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme will start with 250 workers to be trained in digitization. The news came this morning from Minister of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology Senator Kay McConney who also noted that Government has partnered with a private company to train this batch of workers. “In this project that we have with this private sector company, close to 250 persons who would have been separated from their jobs will get first level training in digitization. This means that we are creating a pool of resources in Barbados, not just for Government projects but also so that the private sector can say that they have a pool of players that they can draw from that are trained and certified,” said McConney. The Government Senator made the revelation while delivering the featured remarks at the Caribbean Institute of Management Consultants, International Consultants conference, which was held at the Accra Beach hotel this morning. McConney explained that the private sector involvement was motivated solely by their social obligation and she is urging others to follow this example. “We are re-training and re-tooling where we want to go. We are empowering and enfranchising Barbadians. We are getting support from the private sector who have made it part of their corporate social responsibility to re-train public officers in digitization,” she said. Last month, president of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), Akanni McDowall complained that Government’s promise to introduce the Re-tooling Enfranchisement, Re-training and Empowerment (RERE) programme, was too long in coming. This morning the Minister made it clear that Government was not asleep at the wheel as it related to the RERE project as well as efforts to modernise the public sector. She revealed that Government has engaged one of the top companies in the field, to aid in this regard. “We are also as a Government taking new approaches to solving challenges in the public sector and we have in fact engaged one of the leading architects in Scotland’s digital accelerator programmes to encourage entrepreneurship and growth in the tech sector,” said McConney, who noted that Government was leading by example in this regard.She pointed out that at the Cabinet level, the switch to digital has already taken place. She added, “We understand that the ground conditions here in Barbados must be right for this digital transformation to take place and one of the most critical is leadership at the highest level of Government. I can assure you that this has already begun.” (BT)

RENT DEFAULTERS – As at November 30, 2018, the National Housing Corporation (NHC) was owed $148,971.74 by tenants occupying the controversial high-rise apartments at the Woods in Dalkeith, St Michael, commonly referred to as the Grotto. This was among the findings contained in a follow-up audit by the Auditor General to his September 2016 special audit, which pointed out that 49 tenants in the Rent-to-Own programme defaulted in the amount of $112,671.74. Of these tenants, ten each had a combined monthly income which was less than the estimated threshold of $2,667, and 32 each had a combined monthly income in excess of $3,000 per month. “A tenant whose salary was less than $2,000 with a monthly rental charge of $859, also owed in excess of $11,000,” Trotman reported. He also pointed out that: “Thirteen tenants in the Rent-to-Buy programme defaulted in paying their monthly occupancy charge totalling $36,300.” Of those tenants, he said, 11 each had a combined monthly income in excess of $3,000 while the others had a monthly income of less than $3,000. There was only one case where the NHC enforced the provision of the contract by repossessing the apartment of a tenant who defaulted. That tenant’s contract was terminated on February 12, 2018 with the condition that all outstanding monies, approximately $7,200 at that time, should be paid on or before March 31, 2018. “No evidence was received to indicate that these arrears were paid,” Trotman said. He revealed that notices of arrears dated March 12, 2018 were issued to 13 tenants in the ‘Rent-to-Own’ programme who were in arrears as at February 28, 2018. However, as at November 30, 2018, the total arrears for nine of these tenants had increased by 138 per cent, whereas the arrears had decreased by 44 per cent for the other tenants. “No evidence was provided of any further letters being sent to tenants who were in arrears,” he said. Trotman said the NHC has been lax in dealing with its defaulters, adding that the high volume of defaulters at the Grotto was “alarming” as it was a relatively new project. Trotman recommended that the NHC seek to reduce the number of people defaulting on their monthly occupancy rent and ensure that actions, as outlined in the tenancy agreements for default, are taken in a timely manner. The audit also revealed that 12 tenants were allowed to pay a security deposit which was less than two months’ rental charge, and ten of these tenants owed arrears totalling $43,088.72 as at the end of November 2018. The main objective of the audit, which covered the period April 1, 2016 to November 2018, was to determine whether the units were allocated according to the policy of the NHC, the level of default among the tenants and whether the cost of constructing the units would be recouped. The auditor general concluded that the NHC did not follow its own eligibility criteria when the units at the Grotto were allocated. With the aim of providing housing solutions for rental/sale for the lower-middle income to lower income group of citizens, the then Democratic Labour Party Government had built 80 units at a cost of approximately $35.4 million including interest paid and the cost of the land. However, Trotman pointed out that construction costs have moved the units into the middle to upper income category, with each unit constructed at a cost of $442,509. Seventy-nine of the units were allocated to tenants while one was reserved to be used as the office of the site superintendent. The Auditor General said based on the findings, persons from the lower income sector would no longer benefit from this development under a sale arrangement. Each successful applicant for the units at the Grotto was expected to submit a mortgage certificate from a financial institution confirming their eligibility for a mortgage of $225,000 or $215,000 based on their option. However, the auditor general found that only one mortgage certificate was presented for audit inspection and no evidence was provided to verify that the other tenants at the Grotto had submitted mortgage certificates at the time of applying to rent/purchase the units. Trotman said failing to ensure that mortgage certificates were provided before tenants were selected, the NHC exposed itself to the possibility of having tenants who cannot acquire a mortgage to purchase the units at the time of sale and this would result in tenants continuing to rent beyond the stipulated time. In its response the NHC said while the report showed 44 of the 62 tenants as being in default at the end of November last year, 23 of those were for default on only one month’s payment or less. “Several of those shown as in default, payments are by deductions. The Corporation has over the years suffered from slow remittances from some Government departments and business entities,” the NHC added. However, Trotman complained that issuance of the Notice of Arrears to tenants was not effective, adding that the non-enforcement of the provision in the contract for managing defaulters shows a “weakness” in enforcement by the NHC. “The decision to allow persons to pay a reduced security deposit exposed the corporation to the risk of not being able to recover costs in case of damages to the units caused by the tenants,” he said. He recommended that lessons learned from the Grotto project should be applied to future projects to ensure that the same issues are not encountered. “Special attention needs to be paid to the cost of construction to ensure that the target population can meet the cost recovery targets set by the board,” he added. (BT)

STREET LIGHTING PROJECT LAUNCHED – Over the next 15 years Government is set to save over $30 million as it moves towards renewable energy and energy-efficient sources. This was revealed by Minister of Energy and Water Resources Wilfred Abrahams during a site visit to the Barbados LED Retrofit Street Light Project at Silver Sands Recreational Park this morning. The initiative falls under Government’s Public Sector Smart Energy Programme (PSSEP) and is set to run for the next 18 months. The project aims to replace 85 per cent or 27,250 of the island’s streetlights, with LED lights. However, the Government Electrical Department will replace 3000 of those streetlights located along the highways. The overall cost of the project is approximately $12 million and it is being financed by the Inter American Development Bank (IDB). Speaking during the site visit, Abrahams said the project was another example of Government’s commitment to move towards renewable energy. “This is a herculean task of trying to replace pretty much all of the streetlights in Barbados and is a major commitment by the Government of Barbados. “As everybody knows we are looking to move to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030 and part of that necessitates us rethinking the way we do things. So we can’t move forward with high consumption, inefficient technology when technology is advancing at such a pace that there are many options for us to bring our costs back down,” Abrahams said. “Over the 15-year period of this project the savings to the Government will be about $31 million in electricity costs. That by itself is phenomenal…” Abrahams said. The Minister thanked the partners in the project, Barbados Light and Power and Caribbean LED Lighting. The project is already said to be ahead of schedule as the streetlights had been delivered a month ago, allowing the BL&P to begin work in advance. BL&P’s distribution engineer and project manager Paula Palmer said lights in Regency Park and Kingsland, Christ Church; Bridge Cot, St George and Ruby, St Philip, had already been replaced. Additionally, she said a contractor had been hired to replace those lights which customers had called in to say were not working. (BT)

CHICKEN FARMERS AWAIT MEETING WITH MINISTER - Local poultry farmers are extremely disappointed by Agriculture Minister, Indar Weir’s dismissal of their unceasing cry for Government to ban or restrict the importation of chicken wings. But farmers have taken comfort in a promised meeting with the Minister, to discuss that and many other issues facing the industry. At the Barbados Labour Party’s(BLP) rally on Sunday night, Weir scolded Barbados Agricultural Society President and former Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Member of Parliament, James Paul, who has continuously advocated for measures aimed at protecting the livelihoods of local poultry producers. “I want James Paul to know that when he is … making his noise about chicken wings, you have got to understand the poor people. You claim to be part of a party that said that it stood for poor people and now you want to ask me to come and tell Barbadians they can no longer sell chicken wings. I can’t do it unless there is an alternative,” Weir said to hundreds of supporters gathered at Carlisle car park. Paul’s most recent call was made last October, when he pleaded with the newly-elected BLP government to restrict the “reckless” importation immediately. At the time, he said the quantity of chicken wings being imported was crippling the local poultry industry and small farmers in particular, who were unable to get their chickens sold. When contacted on this occasion, Paul refused to go back and forth with the agriculture Minister over the issue. However President of the Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers Association (BEPA), Stephen Layne revealed the comments did not sit well with farmers. “Most of the directors and membership have asked that until we have the meeting, we should put a hold on the comments. But you can expect that there was a lot of disappointment and I think we need some clarification on that statement from him,” he said in a brief statement. “That [high importation of chicken wings] is not the only thing that would hurt farmers. We’ve been asking for this ban for a considerable time and this announcement does not change what has been happening. So the general group will have this meeting and we will make an announcement about where we will go.” He revealed that a specific date had not been agreed upon, but in approximately two weeks, poultry farmers would take numerous concerns about the industry to Minister Weir. While he could not state whether local farmers could satisfy the national demand for chicken wings, he said they could provide alternatives at the same price. “A chicken wing isn’t even healthy. Many of the chicken wings that we have here come in because overseas, meat consumers are much more knowledgeable and perhaps recognize that wings are not as wholesome to eat as we think there are down here. He added: “The sector is very hopeful that in the very near future we could provide a more quality piece of chicken at the same cost of the chicken wing and it would be better for the consumers and their families in terms of health, because a drumstick is healthier to eat than a wing and the weight of a drumstick, the ratio of bone to flesh is greater in a drumstick. “Those are just some of the things that we want to talk about, but we just want to have the meeting and see where he goes with that,” said Layne. (BT)

NURSES STAND FIRM – Government’s planned start of the 24-hour polyclinics was struck another blow today, as yet another high-level meeting on the issue failed to persuade nurses to work the shift system. This afternoon the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) as well as other representative bodies for the nurses, met with the Ministry of the Civil Service and Ministry of Health for several hours, but failed to move any closer to an agreement. In fact, no new date has been set for further talks on the matter, signalling that the negotiating parties recognise the difficulty in bridging the divide. Acting General Secretary of the NUPW, Delcia Burke, told Barbados TODAY that not only are the nurses standing their ground, but the Ministry of Health has opted to return the 14 nurses that volunteered for the project back to their substantive posts at the Geriatric Hospital. “The nurses’ minds have not changed, and they insist that they would continue to provide primary healthcare as well as community care for those with chronic illnesses. The nurses argue that to change the facilities to urgent care, would take away from their community work. So, while the NUPW does not want to stop the 24-hour facility, the nurses are also saying that the facilities are not good enough for such a transition,�� said Burke. She pointed out that neither of the two polyclinics earmarked for the project, Sir Winston Scott and David Thompson Health and Social Services Complex, has adequate space. As for what this latest development means for the start of the project, Burke explained that the ministry was tight-lipped about its next step. “They said that they were supposed to recruit nurses and I asked them if they had started that process, but they did not give me an answer. They also had 14 nurses from the Geriatric Hospital that had volunteered to go but they have now been sent back,” she explained. Last week the nurses pulled the rug from under a planned and widely-advertised June 1 start of the two, 24-hour polyclinics sending a message to Government that they will not be bullied into accepting the new hours of work. As a result, the new system set to augment the emergency services of the Queen Elizabeth hospital has been postponed until a resolution can be found. At the time the union was informed by its members that they were being threatened with dismissal and transfers if they refused to work the 24-hour shift system. However, this afternoon Burke told Barbados TODAY that when the issue of threats was raised, Ministry representatives strongly denied the charge. “When we raised that issue, it was strongly denied. The person in charge said they never told persons anything about transfers or dismissals. I think this time around they are trying to use moral suasion to get persons to do the thing rather than brow beating them. The meetings have always been cordial, and we have seen no indications of threats at the meetings that I have attended,” said Burke. She added, “When the meeting finished there was no agreement on a start of the 24-hour facility because there was no person to do it.” Speaking Sunday night at the Barbados Labour Party’s first anniversary political rally at Carlisle Car Park, Bridgetown, Minister of Health Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic defended the Government’s decision to go the route of the 24-hour clinics. The Minister called on the unions and health workers to let commonsense prevail in the negotiations. While not disclosing anything further due to the ongoing negotiations, Lt. Col. Bostic asked unions to be cooperative, arguing the service is critical for the livelihood of ordinary Barbadians. (BT)

CXC STAFF DEMAND REMOVAL OF WANT AD – Protesting workers at the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) say management has failed the basic test to get them back to work, so they will continue industrial action today. The workers, who downed tools yesterday, are demanding that the regional body withdraw immediately several job listings posted on its website. They argued that with negotiations ongoing over restructuring with the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU), it was “disrespectful” that some of the “vacancies” listed were currently filled. However, up to yesterday, the advertisement remained. (WN)

CXC FAILS, SAYS STAFF –There is no end in sight for a near one-week standoff involving dozens of Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) workers, who are incensed over what they consider an extremely disrespectful attempt at restructuring. A three-day sickout has evolved into full-blown industrial action as approximately 95 per cent of unionised staff abandoned their posts to publicly air their frustration. Demonstrating workers sat on folding chairs and enjoyed snacks and drinks under large umbrellas, in what at times resembled a picnic. ‘Leave our jobs alone’, ‘We will do no mo’ and ‘management has to go’ were just a few of the colourful phrases written on placards as workers gave the examination body’s hierarchy a ‘failing grade’ for their treatment of workers. Major restructuring changes have reportedly started unfolding without notice and in the middle of negotiations with trade unions. Some workers were last week informed they would be made redundant at the end of June, while at least two others saw their positions advertised among numerous vacancies published on the CXC’s website over the weekend. “The staff of the Caribbean Examinations Council has advised the Barbados Workers’ Union [BWU] that they are off the job,” reported the BWU’s Deputy Director of Industrial Relations Dionne Howard around 10 o’clock Thursday morning. “We’ve met with the workers, we have heard their concerns at this point. We have reached out to the company. We have shared the concerns and are awaiting word from them as to how soon we can have a discussion regarding the concerns.” Workers remained outside pending those discussions. However after an hour of talks, Executive Assistant to the BWU’s General Secretary, Sindy Green revealed their attempts to resolve the situation had proven futile. “Conditions that would form the basis for further discussions were presented and management indicated that they could not accede to the conditions presented, so for now, we continue to demonstrate on the outside.” In a statement, the BWU revealed restructuring discussions were to be continued on June 3, but CXC’s management unilaterally determined the outcome when they posted advertisements for positions, which were on the table for discussion. “This action by the management was the final straw for the staff at the CXC who have been experiencing a number of challenges with the management. The Executive Council has found the management of the CXC to be insulting and disrespectful, not only to the secretariat but to the Staff of the Council. “It is unconscionable to post jobs currently held by persons on the market and those persons having no idea that their jobs are under threat. This, in no way, takes the shape of typical industrial relations practices and the Executive Council of The Barbados Workers’ Union understands the pressure and frustration of the workers and endorses the action taking place today,” the statement said, while revealing that the BWU remained open to returning to the negotiating table. CXC officials, who are still on the job told Barbados TODAY that registrar, Glenroy Cumberbatch is out of the island on business. However in a statement, the Registrar’s public relations office countered the workers’ claims stressing the CXC’s commitment to maintaining “the highest standards of fair business practices”. The CXC has now referred the issues to the Chief Labor Officer. “The organisation further contends that management participated in consultations in an effort to maintain open communications on issues raised by the BWU and CXC, maintained good industrial relations practices and adhered to organisational rules,” the statement said. (BT)

BUT: TALK TEACHERS’ WORKLOAD FIRST IN ELEVEN-PLUS REFORM – The nation’s largest teachers’ union has declared it must be consulted on the Government’s plans to abolish the Common Entrance Examination, among other education reforms. But item one on the agenda of any talks should be teachers’ workloads, the president of the Barbados Union of Teachers, Sean Spencer has suggested. Spencer said that for too long, teachers’ input have been ignored on major decisions in the education system. Through a press release, Spencer said: “The Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) has registered the recent public pronouncement of the Prime Minister speaking to imminent changes to the Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination (BSSEE). “The union is mindful of the need for discussion on education reform but is no less cognisant that its role as a stakeholder in education should be recognised and respected.” Spencer outlined a number of outstanding issues “which needed to be urgently ventilated” in any future public discussion on changes in the education system. Among these were teacher workload resulting from “government education policies, and initiatives, including some antiquated systems and duplicated tasks”. He added: “Unless teachers’ working lives are improved significantly the situation will not improve. “Experienced teachers will contemplate leaving the profession while more persons, including graduates, will seriously consider entering other professions. “The subject of teachers’ workload should feature highly on any agenda for education reform.” The BUT statement added: “Authorities should establish and regularly use recognised means of consultation with teachers’ organisations on matters such as educational policy, school organization and new developments in the education service.” While emphasising that it was in no way opposed to education reform the union noted that a recent history of poor communication and lack of respect from the Ministry of Education had left a bad taste in its mouth, in an apparent reference to the tenure of the longest-serving Education Minister, Ronald Jones, during the Stuart administration. Therefore, the BUT said, it was urging the current administration not to repeat the mistake of its predecessors. The BUT said: “We make known here that teachers and their representatives have a vested interest in the reform of education. We are not the enemy. “Unfortunately, in the recent past, there has been a lack of respect and lack of communication which lent to a toxic environment. “An effective antidote to the subsequent effects is required to ensure convalescence.” During the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) rally to celebrate its first year in office on Sunday night, the Prime Minister announced that Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw’s mandate was to abolish the “iniquity of the 11-plus exam”. Said Mottley to a crowd of supporters at Carlisle Car Park in Bridgetown: “All of us know you cannot discard people at 11 and 12 years old like if they are going on the dump heap of life and everybody is telling them that they haven’t passed. “We have reached the point where we need to reject an approach to education that was settled by the British in the 1940s. “Santia will start the conversation over the next six months about the abolition and replacement of the common entrance exam, the creation of middle schools and giving people the chance to decide what school they want to go to at 13 or 14, instead of ten and 11. “At the end of the Second Form, they can decide if they want to do a science, or technical or humanities or sports or history and geography or commerce or IT.” (BT)

‘CHANGE CURRICULUM FOR CHANGED SOCIETY’ - A retired international civil servant has urged education administrators to change the school curriculum to meet current and future needs of the society. Dr Chelston Brathwaite, the former Ambassador to China who also once led the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) told the Association of Primary Schools’ Principals’ monthly general meeting educators needed to modify the curriculum to meet 21st Century needs. Reminding principals that careers in medicine, engineering and law weren’t the only jobs in the workforce he said: “The role of the school in the development of our country must, therefore, be subject to national debate and decisions. “Two of the most important question, which we must ask, in my view are what kinds of jobs will be available to the graduates of the school of the 21st Century and are we training the right kinds of persons for this new world? “In our current circumstances, there are many educated people in the world who are unemployed but that does not mean we must stop educating people because it is the educated people who will create the jobs of the future but our educational system must become more demand-driven where we educate people based on the current and future needs of our societies.” Commenting on an explosion of violence and indiscipline in the school system, Dr Brathwaite emphasised that it was the responsibility of school to maintain a no-nonsense policy towards violence, bullying, and indiscipline. The ex-diplomat said: “If we wish to remain a society of law and order then the schools must be the breeding ground for the values which we wish upon our society. “We must not allow our children to be wayward in schools and then expect them to be responsible and disciplined adults so that the cost of indiscipline in the society is reduced. “We need to have more support systems and more guidance in schools for our youth, we must be able to see the potential of children and give them a push.” The former IICA head presented a copy of his book, Ten Defining Moments to the principals of each public primary school. (BT)

AG CALLS FOR PRISON CHECK –Totally inexcusable! That is how Attorney General Dale Marshall has described the case of petty thief Winston Agard, who found himself on remand for ten years. The 50-year-old, who admitted stealing a bag and its contents, including $1 000, on March 27, 2009, was finally released on his own recognisance by Justice Randall Worrell on Wednesday, after his plight was drawn to the court’s attention by a prison officer. A pre-sentencing report was ordered and he returns for sentencing in eight weeks. The more than seven years waiting to plead brought condemnation from the judge, as well as defence counsel Angela Mitchell-Gittens who deemed it as “madness”. (WN)

CONDEMNATION, BUT NO ACTION ON ALLEGED ‘CITY KID THIEVES’ – Two weeks after viral videos emerged of a woman organising three children to steal from City stores, there is still no indication whether the incidents are the subject of investigation by authorities. But the Minister responsible for the Child Care Board (CCB) has condemned the videos and its adult mastermind – even though neither she, the police nor the children’s agency appear to have seen them. Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Cynthia Forde wants the videos fully investigated and the adult involved made to be pursued by law enforcement. “I want the heavy hand of the law to come down on those parents and for those children who are being pulled into that net to be given some measure of counselling. I want to see the video. “People are talking about it but we have not actually seen it. But we want to have the details so that the CCB and the relevant law enforcement agency can take it on board and treat it as a matter of urgency.” Two weeks ago, Barbados TODAY broke the story about the two viral videos showing a woman apparently leading three children to steal from the Swan Street businesses. Police spokesman Sergeant Michael Blackman told Barbados TODAY then that he could neither confirm nor deny if police had seen those videos. When contacted today, Sergeant Blackman said his response remained the same. The Minister declared: “If you have young children, you would not want to expose your young children to the negativity. Once you start to inculcate that kind of habit in them, it will begin to blossom. We see it on video happening in other parts of the world and we condemn it. What about here? “To steal from one another is bad enough, further more to take them into a store wherever the store is, or into anybody’s household, or anybody’s car that gives them a ride, to steal a purse. It is wrong. “Our children must be taught the correct thing from the beginning. The Bible tells you train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (BT)

SHATTERED BY ACTS OF VANDALISM – Shattered glass and thousands of dollars in damage. That was what some residents in Bank Hall and the neighbouring Bush Hall, St Michael areas, woke up to early yesterday morning. Between Wednesday night and yesterday morning, a number of cars were broken into – apparently by one person. Left behind were shattered glass, discarded purses and cards and frustrated car owners. In Queen Victoria Road, Bank Hall, a resident who declined to give his name said it was happening too often. (WN)

FREE TO GO – The family of Errol Vivian Jones celebrated with hugs and smiles outside the District ‘C’ Magistrates’ Court today after the Chief Magistrate ruled that he would stay put in Barbados. “This is a good feeling!” was the declaration of one of the 64-year-old man’s sisters moments after Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch informed him that he would not be extradited to Canada. Canadian authorities had made a request through diplomatic channels for Jones to be extradited after it was discovered that he breached the conditions of his parole. Jones was residing in Canada when he was convicted of drug-related offences on November 11, 1993 and August 31, 1994. He was sentenced to six years, four months and seven days imprisonment. However, after serving 1,430 days in prison Jones was released on full parole. As part of his conditions he was required to periodically report to his probation officer. But on October 10, 1997, Jones failed to report, leading to warrants of suspension and apprehension being issued by the Correctional Services of Canada. The breach of his parole conditions meant he was automatically required to complete the remaining 889 days of his sentence and as such a request was made for him to be extradited. According to the evidence given by Jones in the District ‘C’ Magistrates’ Court over the last few weeks he had been living in Barbados for over two decades and had even worked as a Transport Board driver before the police knocked on his door on January 16, 2019 with a warrant of apprehension. “Why do they want to extradite me when they deport me?” was the question Jones repeatedly asked when he gave evidence in the matter recently. However, the Chief Magistrate pointed out that much was made about the circumstances in which Jones returned to Barbados and whether he was a person who was “unlawfully at large” which is the definition of a fugitive. Chief Magistrate Birch stated that the evidence given from the log book kept by the Immigration Department at the Grantley Adams International Airport as well as other statements showed that the wanted man was “indeed deported” from Canada. “Logically it is difficult to understand if he was indeed deported [how] he falls into the category of being unlawfully at large having been lawfully removed from Canada and based on that Mr Jones I cannot grant a deportation order. I am satisfied that you were not unlawfully at large during the time that you were in Barbados,” Birch ruled. The judicial officer went on to say that what made the decision “even more pellucid” was having left Canada on an emergency document, there was literally one place Jones could go. “It’s a nonstop flight to Barbados so you can only come here and I am satisfied that all the intelligence on the part of the Canadian officials would reveal that having put you on a one-way flight, logically it was only one place you could have landed. As a result I will not be granting any application at this time for your deportation because I cannot rule that you were unlawfully at large . . . . And I think had they wanted you, logically this is where they should have looked for you,” the Chief Magistrate told Jones before telling him “You are free to go”. The 64-year-old man walked out with a smile and was quickly hugged by his two sisters Cora Smith and Evelyn Greenidge in the court’s lobby. And while Jones declined to speak with the media, his attorney Clement Lashley, QC, who represented him along with legal counsel Honor Chase were happy with the decision. “He was able to stand his ground. He was always a witness of truth from beginning to end and I am not therefore surprised that the decision was given in his favour. “I think that justice has been done in this matter,” the Queen’s Counsel said. The matter was prosecuted by Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Anthony Blackman and Senior Crown Counsel Krystal Delaney. (BT)

BURIED STASH – Former La Romana Jewellers employee David Anderson McDonald Reeves has admitted to burglarising the establishment of over $207,000 in jewellery, some of which he buried and also $410 cash. The owner of the store Ajan Lalwani reported to police that someone entered the establishment between September 10 and 12, 2016 and made away with his merchandise. Today in the No. 2 Supreme Court before Justice Randall Worrell, the 44-year-old Reeves of Weekes Land, Goodland, St Michael pleaded guilty to the crime saying that he took the items from the store. Included were 31 gold and diamond rings; 105 gold chains; 14 gold chains and pendants; 24 pairs of gold bangles; 20 gold bracelets; 228 pairs of gold earrings; 19 gold anklets; 40 gold pendants; 82 silver bangles;152 watches, eight pearl sets and 30 silver chains. Police investigations revealed that Reeves gained entry to the store, opened the display cases, took the items and placed them in garbage bags before making his escape. He was subsequently taken into custody where he was asked if he had anything to say after Lalwani identified some of the items which were recovered still bearing the price tags. “I am sorry for what I do and I will try to get back the rest for you,” he said and admitted that he was the sole perpetrator of the crime. “Nobody else helped me. I do everything myself,” he stated. Reeves subsequently took police to 2nd Avenue Alleyne’s Land, Bush Hall, St Michael where he had “stashed” the jewellery. He also gave police a statement. “Officer I on cocaine and I wanted money so I . . . went in the store and move with the things.” In the statement he also told police that he dug a hole in the yard and put the jewellry in a bucket and before burying it. However, when he accompanied officers to the area the bucket with the items was not found, Senior Crown Counsel Olivia Davis said in outlining the facts. A probation report has been ordered on Reeves in preparation for sentencing. He returns to court on September 13 when his time on remand at Dodds will also be disclosed to the court. (BT)

FORMER STUDENTS RECALL EVENTS LEADING TO GIBSON’S ACCIDENT – Several former students of the Princess Margaret Secondary School have been giving their versions of what occurred on September 18, 2009, moments before the late Ian Elroy Gibson was hit by a car on Sunbury Road, St Philip. Whitney Chase was one of those who gave evidence before the eight-member jury hearing the manslaughter case in which Shaquille Shamal Khalleel Bradshaw and Doniko Javier Alleyne both of Balls Land, Christ Church and Maria Antoinette Goddard of Parish Land C, Balls Land, Christ Church are accused of unlawfully killing 11-year-old Gibson. The former first form Princess Margaret student died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on September 20, 2009, two days after he was struck by a vehicle on Sunbury Road, St Philip. The three have pleaded not guilty to the charge in the No. 2 Supreme Court. Chase said she was in second form at the same school and it was a daily routine to walk up to the bus stop along Sunbury Road to catch the Oistins bus to go home. She was shading from the sun near the bus stop and Alleyne, Goddard and Bradshaw were also on that road. She knew the trio as they attended the same primary and secondary school. Goddard, she said, was also in second form. “Maria had hold Ian, the boy that pass, and let Doniko hit him with his hand . . . When she let go of Ian, Maria hit him also . . . . Ian went on a rock and started to cry,” Chase told the No. 2 Supreme Court as Principal Crown Counsel Alliston Seale questioned her. Another boy called Devon Brathwaite, who she said is her brother, went to speak to Ian but the deceased began to “curse” him. “Ian push up his middle finger . . . and came near to the crowd [of students] . . . . And Shaquille Brathwaite said ‘watch it now men’ and start to walk and Ian started to ran and looking in the direction that Shaquille Brathwaite was coming from and that’s when he was struck,” she disclosed. “Ian was on the ground with blood coming from his pants and his face,” she added. Chase also said under cross-examination by Arthur Holder that Bradshaw had a “stick” playing in his hand adding that she could not recall seeing Ian running across the road and back. Jamal Cox was in fourth form at the St Philip school and was also at the bus stop on that day. He revealed that Doniko Alleyne was upset after saying that Gibson was “dancing behind him” . “Ian was also crying after he was slapped by Doniko and Maria,” he said saying the accident happened soon after that. Devon Brathwaite was a fourth form student at the school and he revealed that “Doniko and Maria were troubling a fella . . . they were slapping the boy round his head.” “I went to Ian and ask him if he good and he was cursing me. . . . I went and sit down [and] after that I saw children running. I thought the bus was coming . . . [but] I saw Ian on the ground,” he told the court presided by Justice Randall Worrell. Today investigator Sergeant Cortez Bowen said when he questioned Goddard in the presence of a parent and her attorney on April 8, 2010 she responded: “I ain’t do he nothing . . . . I was not slapping him”. Station Sergeant Lemuel Hacket also said Alleyne and Bradshaw denied slapping Gibson when they were questioned at the station. (BT)

WI HURT BY LOSS – Carlos Brathwaite was virtually moved to tears after the West Indies failed at the tape to beat Australia at Trent Bridge yesterday in their second World Cup cricket match. “Gutted! Me and all the guys in that dressing room are sorely disappointed about this defeat and I can tell you we are hurt by it,” Brathwaite told Weekend Sport after they fell to a 15-run defeat at the hands of the five-time champions Australia. A match marked by some questionable umpiring decisions and some excellent catches turned into heartache for the Windies, who at one stage had Australia at 79 for five, only for them to make 288. (WN)

BLESSING OF THE LAST CANES IN SPEIGHTSTOWN ON SATURDAY – Crop Over 2019 will officially get underway on Saturday with the First Citizens Crop Over Launch and Ceremonial Delivery of the Last Canes in Speightstown, St Peter. It will raise the Spirits represented by Sonia Williams, Tahirah Gibbons and Andy ‘MRBLOOD’ Armstrong, along with featured artistes the Mighty Gabby, TC, Mikey, Lil’ Rick, Hypasounds, Quon, Marzville and Stiffy. “The ceremonial delivery of the last canes has always been a traditional celebration and a sign of the end of the harvest,” said National Cultural Foundation (NCF) Cultural Officer Literary Arts and event producer Ayesha Gibson-Gill. Those heading north for the blessing of the canes will see the annual parade, the traditional blessing and a Folk and Soca infused party. There is a dramatised water ritual which will be recorded for later viewing, but all the other aspects of the event will be streamed live for the first time this year, starting at 3 p.m. Gibson-Gill said that the event will help to accentuate some of the upcoming events on the Crop Over calendar, highlight our heritage/traditions and to tell the tale of the interesting stories of Speightstown itself. The NCF has organised a Scavenger Hunt adventure around the area using QR codes to help tell that story of this important Port City in our history. “It’s a festival for everyone,” Gibson-Gill continued. Parade manager and NCF Cultural Officer Dance, Alicia Payne-Hurley, said this year’s parade would be one of the largest the NCF has ever produced for this event. There will be about 1 000 participants from almost every school in the north and a cross-section of community groups on the island, performing cultural displays such as the traditional Maypole and Landship dances. Along with the presentation of the usual traditional characters in colourful costumes such as the shaggy bears, stilt walkers and the mother sally, there will be traditional and modern tuk bands, as well as a drumming presentation from the Israel Lovell Foundation and more. Payne-Hurley, affectionately termed the ‘Parade Boss’, noted that many Barbadians do not make the link between Crop Over and the significance of sugar cane and the events theme, Journey to the Last Cane, is expected to do just that – demonstrate the positive and negative aspects sugar has had on Barbados. The parade will start at Queen Street and make its way across Major Walk to the Speightstown Playing Field where the official Opening Ceremony and the annual blessing of the canes will take place. (WN)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 208 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

0 notes