Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 04, 2015 (SKNIS): Nineteen (19) tertiary students from the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis departed the island on Sunday, November 01, for Trinidad and Tobago to gain first-hand experience and identify opportunities within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Mervil Janelle Nisbett, teacher at Charlestown Secondary School, who is accompanying the students, said that she didn’t get the chance to interact with the group that was here from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and as such this would be a great experience for her and the students alike.
She explained that CSME caters for persons from various backgrounds, but persons do not fully understand their rights within CARICOM.
“CSME is understood by different individuals, I don’t think many people on the ground are focusing too much on CSME, they are not understanding their right throughout the CARICOM region,” she said, adding that the more publicity that is given to the CSME, the more thought individuals would give to it. “They would learn more about being able to live in Trinidad for example without having to apply for a work permit.”
Mrs. Jasmine Weeks, Director of International Trade, acknowledged CARICOM Heads of Government and the European Union for implementing the project.
“This was the vision of the CARICOM Heads of Government,” Mrs. Weeks stated. “They would have thought that with all the negativity that has been spread in the region when it comes to the CSME, what better way to spread the good words than through youth”.
She outlined that the Ministry is presently upgrading the CMSE department in order to further assist CARICOM nationals.
“In the Ministry of International Trade, we have a CSME unit and we are actually retrofitting the unit,” she said, adding that the staff is capable of providing persons with relevant information pertaining to CSME.
The Students Engaging the CSME through Field Promotion project which was launched on September 11, 2008, in Bridgetown, Barbados has already catered to CARICOM Youth Ambassadors from Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Twenty (20) tertiary students, one CSME focal point and one teacher from St. Vincent and the Grenadines completed a similar exercise in St. Kitts and Nevis from October 12-17 which was facilitated through the Students Engaging the CSME through Field Promotion Programme.