A group of women at the top level of society gathered at State House yesterday morning for a closed roundtable discussion with President Danny Faure.

The gathering, which brought together women ministers, parliamentarians, principal secretaries, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the ambassador for women and children, commemorated the International Women’s Day.

Topics raised during the meeting were brought forward to a special cabinet meeting also held yesterday at State House to discuss issues affecting women.

The legislative, judiciary, executive and Citizens Engagement Platform (Ceps) gave a presentation on issues affecting Seychellois women’s personal and professional lives.

Chief Justice Mathilda Twomey said at the end of the day, the same points were being outlined by different partners.

“We talked a lot about the empowerment of women that has become quite clichéd. We have platitudes about the empowerment of women but we do not address what is really empowering a woman. Empowering a woman is to give a woman a place in society to influence decisions and her rightful place beside men in all aspects of her life,” she said.

She added this has to be emphasised in Seychelles as we tend to lose sight of this very issue by just paying lip service to the empowerment of women.

She also said they talked strongly about legislative

changes that need to happen to put women on exactly the same place as men in society.

“There are still some laws to be looked at to give women the equal status to men in Seychelles,” she said.

Cannibalising of women by other women, she said, also formed part of the discussion where women who get to a certain position in Seychelles are often criticised, not only by men, but especially by women.

“This is a kind of an act of treason by women against women. Women are there to protect each other and to be in solidarity with other women,” said Mrs Twomey.

She added they also talked on other aspects like life in Seychelles especially sexual rights of women and the main role as a mother in the home.

Regarding the presentations delivered during the roundtable discussions, two female parliamentarians, Chantal Ghislain and Regina Esparon, elaborated on them.

“One thing I would like to stress on – when it comes to women and women issues – we as politicians should never, never let politics divide us. Regarding families, last week we visited the prison and it really ripped our hearts apart to see one whole family – a mother, a father and a son – in prison. Our families are being ripped apart because of those social ills. So we have to take bold actions and bold decisions, have the political will to be able to change that,” Ms Ghislain said.

Her presentation was on family especially on how the family as the social fabric of society is being torn apart by social ills like drug, alcohol, delinquent children, parents who have no control over their kids from such a young age as 9 years.

“I am not accusing any parents. But we as women should take more responsibility to care for our children, home, our own self as women so those children can become good citizens in society tomorrow.”

Mrs Esparon commended the opportunity to meet and discuss with the President where she said she brought to his attention pertinent issues affecting women in Seychelles.

“Last week we visited the Montagne Posée prison and we have proposed to the Prison Board to take a fresh look into the issue of women in prison so they are able to get a second chance in life. We also discussed issues affecting women in the home, subjects considered ‘taboo’ by the local population or women themselves, on social issues that continue to affect society where women or parents are afraid or shy to talk about.”

She said policies which she considers are affecting women were also put forward. She cited examples as the Ministry of Health’s contraceptive programme which is for women under 18 but not below 16. But where there are cases of girls being sexually active under the age of 14.

“We need this harmonisation in those policies,” she said.

The issue of day care centres being too far from work places, was also discussed where she suggested future day care centres are located much closer to working places so mothers do not have to walk long distances in either strong rain or scorching sun to carry their child to a day care.

Le Duc de Praslin is currently a leading example for hotels in Seychelles based on its ongoing effort to push forth a more sustainable and greener tourism model which is set to blossom this year based on the hotel’s continuous efforts to bring forward safer and greener tourism practices.

The award-winning hotel launched their new PV system earlier this month and is gearing up to further reduce its carbon footprint by tripling this power production in the near future.  It is planning several other projects to set the locomotive towards a greener concept for the hotel .

Owned by Robert Payet, Le Duc de Praslin, which is situated on the low plateaus of Cote D’or is already lighted using only LED bulbs and is programmed to reach its goal of switching to 100 percent invertor air conditioning systems by the end of 2017.

This cooling system is said to be both energy saving and has a quieter operation compared to traditional air conditioning compressors.

The introduction of the Magna pool a couple years back which was the first ever of its kind in Seychelles is indeed a unique selling point for the hotel which comes with great health benefits and harmonises further with nature based on a more environmentally friendly filtration system free of chlorine.

Le Duc de Praslin also has plans to build its own sewage treatment plant due to low placement issues and this is scheduled to provide a more appropriate way of managing the hotels waste water.

According to Mr Payet, such plans are both cost effective and are great marketing points to its clients who are often conscious about such sustainable practices as well as setting the pace for other hotels to follow in its foot path.

Walter Mzembi of Zimbabwe and Alain St.Ange of the Seychelles are both candidates for the position of Secretary General of the UNWTO and were both on the PATWA (Pacific Area Travel Writers Association) forum at ITB in Berlin.

The two Ministers were in Berlin to also make their case as to why they should be the next Secretary General of the UNWTO.

“It was pleasing to seethe two Candidate coming from the Africa Region sitting together” said a journalist who had been following the campaigning for the May Election of the UNWTO closely.

The Children’s Library situated in the National Library reopened officially yesterday morning after having remained closed for more than a year.

The reopening comes after intensive refurbishment work carried out by the Anonyme Island in collaboration with the ministry responsible for culture and various other institutions.

During the opening ceremony yesterday morning the Minister for Youth, Sports, and Culture Idith Alexander and the managing director of Anonyme Island Sammy Haress were honoured to cut the ribbons to reopen the facility.

Present to share in the children’s joy and historic moment were Designated Minister Macsuzy Mondon, several other ministers, ambassadors, other directors of Anonyme Island, a large group of pupils and students from different schools around the country, parents, teachers, among other guests.

To show their joy and appreciation pupils from different schools recited poems, sang patriotic songs and performed a piece of our traditional dance.

As a gesture of gratitude and a token of appreciation for the long-awaited facility, Alicia Ally, a pupil from Bel Eau primary school, presented Mr Haress a painting on behalf of all the children of Seychelles.

Addressing everyone present Mr Haress said the reopening of the Children’s Library “is the fruit of a common effort between Anonyme Island, the ministry of culture and various governmental institutions”.

“Our joint objective and mission is to empower the children of Seychelles to fulfill their potentials through edutainment,” Mr Haress said.

He noted that Anonyme Island is fortunate to have the expertise of the Children Interactive Community (CIC) part of the United Nations Development Programme which will support the implementation of this promising project.

Edutainment is the act of learning through a medium that both educates and entertains. It comprises a combination of educational games, videos, information through technology, books…

Anonyme Island has been part of the Seychellois community for nearly a decade, during which time its principals, directors and management have moved to help and assist the community with whom they have developed a strong attachment. What better way to do so, they decided, than by empowering the young children of Seychelles by providing them with non-academic programmes of educational entertainment – edutainment.

With the valued support of ministers and various governmental institutions, Anonyme has been developing programmes for the nation’s youth in collaboration with CIC.  This has been done by utilising a professional team to undertake visits to local community-oriented organisations to ascertain their needs, culminating in a workshop held at the ministry of culture in July last year.

Guests watch as school children take part in various activities on offer at the refurbished library

The aim of these development programmes is to empower children through the application of Edutainment, the most effective educational programme yet devised.

Based on the research carried out by CIC, Anonyme Island and the culture ministry have concluded that its mission can be most effectively delivered by transforming a core community component – the children’s section of the National Library of Seychelles, from a conventional library into a modern setting custom made for children. This is now an attractive, colourful space where children, parents, educators and the community can come together.  It comprises a reading area, an IT suite, an auditorium and a research area, where children have at their disposal a wide array of educational tools.  Books, computers, traditional musical instruments and arts and crafts materials are available, as well as interactive reading and listening devices to help them to develop their interests, talents and aptitudes.

“The renovation and redesign of the children’s section of the National Library is not meant to mark the conclusion of Anonyme’s involvement with the local community but is just the beginning of our plan to extend the facilities it offers to different community centres around Seychelles based on the four pillars of social work: children, parents, educators and the community,” Mr Haress said.

“A library is the cornerstone of a healthy community,” Mr Haress said, a view which Minister Alexander echoed. She said libraries give children the opportunity to develop new ideas, to acquire and enhance their skills at ICT and experience the world in a different dimension through books and modern technology.

Following the opening guests toured the different sections of the newly opened library to appreciate the different features, newly added facilities, colourful furniture, watch children busy researching the internet from the two new computer areas, watch students following a PowerPoint presentation on bullying in a newly added interactive room with built-in projectors and lighting…

Anne Mary Robert, principal librarian, said the library will officially open for normal library activities and afterschool programmes on Monday, giving the staff time to finalise and organise the different activities that they are putting together for the children.

Meanwhile all the pupils present at the opening ceremony expressed their joy that the library has finally reopened and they are all looking forward to taking part in the afterschool activities.

Ms Robert said children will also be able to do their homework, research and photocopies of notes and partake in a host of new activities being planned and enjoy a batch of new exciting books.

Source : Seychelles NATION

Platform sosyete sivil Sesel, CEPS, in lans en nouvo progranm pour ankouraz e motiv bann zenn pour adopte volontarya konman en valer fondamantal e en fason pour kontribye anver kominote.

Bi sa progranm se pour promouvwar e ranforsi zenn volontarya konman parti partisipasyon sivik dan devlopman nasyonal.

Lansman ofisyel sa progranm ti fer resaman dan Sant Lazenes English River dan prezans Vis-Prezidan Vincent Meriton, tyermenn CEPS Jules Hoareau, sekreter prensipal pour lazenes ek spor Fabian Palmyre, parmi lezot envite.

Letan i ti pe adres bann ki ti prezan, Vis-Prezidan Meriton, ki osi responsab bann zafer sosyete sivil, ti dir ki i ankourazan pour en pei ler i vwar son lazenes aktiv e konsyansye.

“I pozitiv pour nou kominote ler lazenes i vin devan, pare pou kontribye, ” Msye Meriton ti dir.

I ti salye sa bann zenn ki’n anbark lo sa nouvo progranm “pour montre ki zenn Seselwa pa pe drive, ki se zot ki reprezant sa nouvo zenerasyon vibran e ranpli avek lenerzi ki pou anmenn Sesel pli devan”.

“Me ozordi, pa zis lazenes ki nou devret rekonnet. Parey nou tou nou konnen, zenn i touzour bezwen siport e gidans. Zot merit lankourazman e bon lankadreman pour reisir. Paran, ansennyan ek lezot manm kominote i kapab fer en gran diferans. Ozordi, nou pe osi vwar lenportans en sosyete sivil ki dinamik e inovativ. Mon felisit CEPS pour sa linisyativ, ” Msye Meriton ti dir.

I ti fer resorti ki se sa kalite langazman ki nou bezwen si nou anvi adres bann diferan defi ki devan nou.

“Gouvernman lo li tousel pa kapab rezourd tou problenm. Gouvernman lo li menm napa tou solisyon.Nou bezwen alor plis kolaborasyon, plis kordinasyon e plis partenarya pour ki nou anmenn en lapros ini dan fason ki nou vwar e adres bann defi ki nou vwar otour nou,” i ti dir.

I ti dir i kontan pour vwar ki 2 lafors mazer nou sosyete – lazenes ek sosyete sivil – in zwenn ansanm e pe kolabore pour byenet Sesel.

“Lazenes i lavenir e ler ou azout zot lafors avek bann kalite ki sosyete sivil i reprezante, mon konvenki ki nou pou vwar en diferans, ” i ti dir.

I ti dir avek bann zenn ki sa progranm ki zot pe anbark lola i enn ki pou anmenn enorm benefis dan lavi lezot.

“Dan plizyer domenn ek lenstans, zot pou aprann valer partaz zot letan avek lezot. Zot pou apresye lenportans donnen san ekspekte ganny okenn keksoz an retour. Zot pou realize ki zot kapab fer en diferans, ki zot annan dan sakenn de zot sa potansyel pour anmenn sanzman pozitiv dan bokou sitiasyon. Me konnen osi, ki kantmenm ki travay volonter pa peye, i en aktivitie ki pou anrisi zot karakter ek personalite, ” Msye Meriton ti dir.

I ti ankor en fwa remersye CEPS pour sa “langazman serye” ki pe ganny demontre atraver sa progranm zenn volontarya.

“Gouvernman i rekonnet travay signifikan ki zot pe anmennen pour byennet nasyon Seselwa e mon le reasir zot ki tou zefor posib pou ganny fer pour ranforsi sa bon kolaborasyon ki nou’n devlope dan sa bann derneyn lannen, » i ti dir.

Dan en pti mesaz remersiman, Manmzel Axel Bodwell ti remersye CEPS “pour kree sa loportinte pour nou. Pour rekonnet ki nou bann zenn nou annan en rol pour zwe e ki nou osi nou annan en par dan kontribisyon ki sosyete sivil pe fer dan pei”.

I ti dekri sa nouvo progranm zenn volontarya konman en laport ki’n ouver pour bann zenn.

“I en loportinite ki’n ganny met devan nou pour pran nou plas konman sitwayen e ede fer lavwa sosyete sivil pli for. Loportinite i la pour nou ozordi pour nou donn nou lekor en lot tit e sa se volonter,” Manmzel Bodwell ti dir.

“Ozordi CEPS i kree plis loportinite pour nou e met a nou laporte bann lasosiasyon ki bezwen bann zenn parey nou pour donn en koudmen dan bann diferan sekter ek domenn. An edan lezot, nou pou pe osi grandi e akimil bann skils ek konnesans ki nou napa ozordi,” i ti azoute.

“Annou leve e met nou kominote e pei aker. Annou vin bann volonter. Annou pa demann nanryen an retour. Annou ed bann otour nou,” i ti terminen.

Source : Seychelles NATION

The international woman’s day was on the 8th of March therefore the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture held an event on the 9th of March 2017 at the ICCS where all members of staff were present. This event was attended by the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Ms Idith Alexander as well as all the members of the Ministry. 

The men in the Ministry performed a variety of activities such as poems, songs and dance presentations by youths from School of DANCE.

Also for the women’s day event, was the acknowledgement of long serving female staff from different departments under the Ministry.

The men in the Ministry served a variety of snacks and drinks at the standing cocktail in the lobby.
This was a women’s day event the Ministry will remember.

‘The Seychelles islands’ was the main theme of a presentation a given to a group of students at the Al Yasat private school in Al Shamkha, Abu Dhabi.

Tourism attaché based in Abu Dhabi, Aliette Esther was contacted by the school to help with a presentation and Open Day.

After her first trip to these stunning islands, one of the teachers, Sara Al-Zu’bi, fell in love with Seychelles and wanted to share her experience with the students, hence came up with this initiative.

“On the first day, I gave a presentation to students aged between seven and eight years old. I usually work closely with travel agents and professionals involved with the travel and tourism trade, so these young minds were a different segment of the market. I had to come up with a totally new presentation which was geared towards them. It was challenging, but a lot of fun,” said Ms Esther.

“I covered a few themes like the people, the flora and fauna, the language and other aspects of our culture. The students stunned me with everything that they knew, thanks to their teacher’s hard work.”

Miss Al-Zu’bi was enthused from her trip to the Seychelles, and started preparing for the presentation and Open Day.

It fitted in perfectly with the curriculum, and that made it even more worthwhile.

From posters to papier-mâché figurines, drawings of the flag and pictures of animals, as well as their own representations of different aspects of the islands, the students seemed to have covered it all.

These were also on display the following week for the Open Day, where the parents of the over 850 students, 95% of whom are United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals, were in attendance.

The parents asked a lot questions about the islands, sharing their children’s fascination and enthusiasm, she said.

Miss Esther added that the highlight of the day was a dance performance that the class had prepared, and whereby three of the students wore traditional costumes of the Seychelles.

The whole audience was clapping and cheering to the rhythm of the music.

“It was really touching to see children of other nationalities loving the country so much,” Miss Esther added.

Everyone went home with fond memories of the islands as well as little souvenirs of the Seychelles in the guise of coco-de-mer key-rings and different coloured tortoises ordered specially for the event.

The Seychelles was showcased alongside Tunisia, Italy, Argentina, Thailand, Japan, South Africa, Mexico, Cuba, England, Brazil, Canada, France, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Germany, Greece, Russia, Morocco, Australia, Switzerland, Jamaica, New Zealand and India.

The school’s principal Dr Jake Madden thanked Miss Esther for the effort she invested in marketing and selling the Seychelles, and for sustaining the interest of so many parents, children and staff throughout the day.

“I think we can definitely expect a few families from the Al Yasat Private School to visit the Seychelles this year. They were all impressed by the fact that they can get a visa on arrival and that the islands are only four hours away from the UAE.”

“To top it off, it is perfectly safe, and that’s a definite attraction. The UAE is well-connected with the Seychelles archipelago by three airlines and four scheduled flights per day one of which is Air Seychelles the national carrier, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline,” she said.

Du 14 au 18 mars à Luxembourg

Comme nous l’avions annoncé dans notre édition du 18 février, les Seychelles seront à l’honneur au Luxembourg du 14 au 18 mars. Le but de cette exposition est bien sûr de faire connaître notre archipel dans un pays très cosmopolite puisque les deux tiers de la population de la capitale de ce pays sont issus de 143 pays des cinq continents.

L’opération consistera à séduire d’éventuels touristes et créer de nouveaux partenariats culturels. Les ambassadeurs Barry Faure et Jean-Claude Adrienne du ministère des Affaires étrangères ainsi que Miera Savy et Michèle Marengo du ministère de la Jeunesse, des Sports et de la Culture ont proposé aux organisateurs des artistes chevronnés qui doivent faire de cette semaine d’animation un vrai succès auprès des visiteurs de l’exposition.

Les quatre artistes proposés possèdent un palmarès éloquent et impressionnant avec des participations internationales de haut niveau. Outre les participations de groupe au festival des arts créolophones à la bibliothèque nationale et au centre de conférences internationales, le graphiste Urny Mathiot, le peintre Allen Ernesta, le sculpteur Ridley Rose et le chanteur Isham Rath se sont déjà produits dans de nombreux pays étrangers au sein de la Commission de l’Océan Indien, de la fête de l’Afrique ou des Jeux de la Francophonie qui concernent les sports et la culture.

Quatre mousquetaires dans le vent

Depuis leur désignation, nos quatre sélectionnés, véritables mousquetaires et ambassadeurs de la culture seychelloise ne sont pas restés inactifs. Afin de présenter un panel élargi de l’éventail artistique du pays, ces quatre personnes ont contacté leurs collègues restant au pays afin qu’ils leur confient quelques-unes de leur productions.

C’est ainsi que Jude Ally, vainqueur des Jeux de la Francophonie à Nice en 2013, sera représenté dans ce magnifique espace de la « Belle Etoile » de Luxembourg. Ridley Rose, sculpteur sur bois et sur coraux présentera ses fabuleuses créations et notamment ses décorations de Coco de mer qui, il ne faut pas l’oublier est le véritable emblème de notre pays. Bien sûr les membres « du National Arts Council » en profiteront pour présenter tout ce qui fait la richesse des créations artisanales à travers le bois, le raphia, les coquillages, les céramiques, les tissus et les maquettes de bateaux.

Bernadette Muller, la directrice du Centre la Belle Etoile a demandé une décoration spéciale à ses services techniques afin que le visiteur soit immédiatement attiré par tant de beautés. Jean Michel Van der Hasselt le grand photographe Normand présentera ses œuvres étonnantes réalisées dans une dizaine d’îles de l’archipel.

Isham Rath sera chargé de charmer les oreilles des visiteurs. Ce ne sera pas très difficile pour ce chanteur à la voix enchanteresse qui fera découvrir son pays à travers le créole, l’anglais et le français les trois langues nationales.

L’Office National du Tourisme présentera toutes les facettes de nos îles afin d’inciter d’éventuels vacanciers à se rendre aux Seychelles. Christine Vel, la chargée de promotion, organisera d’ailleurs un concours permettant à deux heureux lauréats de passer une semaine de vacances  tous frais payés dans un hôtel de standing. Pour les visiteurs de l’exposition, Bernadette Muller a même prévu un espace restauration qui fera découvrir  les spécialités culinaires du pays dont le délicieux punch élaboré avec le fameux « Takamaka », qu’il faudra malgré tout consommer avec modération.

Pour donner un aperçu de l’importance de cette manifestation il est bon de savoir qu’un magazine spécial a été imprimé à … 165 000 exemplaires. C’est dire l’importance de cette manifestation qui devrait attirer également les frontaliers du Grand Duché que sont les Belges, les Allemands et les Français.

Source : Seychelles NATION/Francis HERBET

Shamira Basset elected new speaker  

Shamira Basset, a young teacher from Glacis, is the speaker of the 14^th Seychelles National Youth Assembly (SNYA).

She was unanimously elected to the post by other members of the new version of the Youth Assembly during its induction session which was held on Saturday at the National House.

The new deputy speaker is Ria Alcindor while the clerk and deputy clerk are Andria August and Wahida Gobine respectively.

SNYA coordinator Janetta Ali has commented that this is the first time the programme, which aims at developing youth capacity and their communication skills and proposing youth solutions to youth problems, is led by an all girls’ team.

The induction session which apart from the elections included communication tips and presentation of standing orders, was led by the chief executive (CEO) of the SNYC Alvin Laurence and the special advisor for Youth Kevin Vidot. Mr Vidot was himself the speaker of the 7^th SNYA before he went on to become a member of the National Assembly (MNA).

Commenting on the all female composition of the assembly’s leadership, he said that “this is another sign of women and girls’ emancipation in Seychelles”.

He added that he would like to see the 14^th cohort bring another dimension to the SNYA, by proposing solutions to present youth challenges.

“This is not an assembly which will tell government what to do, but rather a programme for youth development,” he said.

Comparing them to the young David who defeated the mighty Goliath, he added that young people can be themselves the solution to the problems they face in society.

The 14^th SNYA will hold its first sitting on the 25^th of this month.

Source : Seychelles NATION

Five hundred Young Citizens (YC) members from primary schools gathered at the Paradis Des Enfants on Saturday to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the movement.

During the event, organised by the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC), the members from different regions got the opportunity to make new friends and engage in different games.

The YC movement was officially launched on March 12, 2004 to provide a more holistic education to our children and youth, by going beyond the formal curriculum endeavour to promote a strong sense of patriotism in our Seychellois citizens.

The coordinator of the YC movement, Anne-Marie Adrien, said the event was not only to mark the anniversary but also to thank God for allowing us to help enhance the knowledge of the children on good values in life.

The ceremony also saw the launch of the value for this month which is ‘Honesty’.

Also during the ceremony two SNYC members – Nolline Sally, a teacher from La Retraite school and Militna Marie from Grand Anse Mahé School, both received a certificate for having been with the Young Citizens movement for 10 years.

On the same day another activity was also on the menu, organised by SNYC at the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education (Site) for the secondary students.

The secondary members had chosen to use the anniversary of the YC to honour the hard work and devotion of their mothers and women in society.

The SNYC chief executive Alvin Laurence pointed out that women play a key role in the society and in SNYC.

“In SNYC there are about 65 women and nine men, which shows that women are playing a key role in our society. Those women work really hard to promote good values in our children,” he said.

During the ceremony all the women present received a rose on the occasion of  Women’s Day celebrated earlier in the week.

Source : Seychelles NATION

The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) with its partners from the private sector took part in one of India’s biggest travel trade fair, the Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre between February 21 to 23.

The private sector from Seychelles was represented by the DMCs and hotels including -7 Degrees South, Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino, Banyan Tree Seychelles, Kempinski Seychelles Resort and Air Seychelles.

OTM 2017 was a successful one and the Seychelles islands received great exposure.

While the travel partners were able to communicate with the destination management companies and hotels face to face, many queries were answered and business opportunities were presented to STB to further capture the Indian market

Along with astounding response and fruitful networking, the Seychelles islands’ booth was given the award for ‘Best Decoration’. This recognition was much appreciated by marketing executive Elsie Sinon who was there to represent the head office along with the Indian representation office for Seychelles.

‘‘We are grateful to our private sector partners for their continuous support and would like to congratulate them for the successful event. We would like to extend our gratitude and appreciation towards the organisers of OTM, 2017. With India breaking into the list of top ten source markets, we are also concentrating on MICE opportunities and destination weddings along with honeymooners and hope to see this momentum of growth continue,” said STB chief executive Sherin Francis.

This year’s Commonwealth Day was celebrated under the theme ‘A Peace Building Commonwealth’ which correlates the core value of international peace and security enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter. The theme is to encourage member states to work towards promoting peace in their respective countries.

In a bid to support this objective, an intergeneration dialogue organised by the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) in collaboration with the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) under the theme ‘Promoting Peace in Seychelles. Let’s talk about solutions!’, was held at the Seychelles Trading Company Ltd (STC) conference centre on bois de Rose Avenue.

The dialogue is aimed at identifying solutions on some of the major issues in Seychelles that pose a threat to peace and security in our homes, schools, communities and country. Mainly issues close to the hearts of young people. And for members to propose possible solutions, in the form of policy proposals, to deal with these issues.

Present were the principal secretary for youth & sports Fabian Palmyre; chief executive of SNYC Alvin Laurence; chairman of SNYC board Ziggy Adam; affiliated partners and members of the SNYC.

The presentations during the event were based on possible threats facing either Seychelles, the world or inter-related.

In his address Mr Laurence said the Commonwealth language is peace and can be found in its theme for this year.

He described it as a language of several other organisations, many countries and that Seychelles is no other than the one who would want to push this agenda even further.

And that is the reason of the gathering where peace can be discussed, what needs to be done like whether we should celebrate it once a year or every now and then, for example.

“We have come here today with this theme with the aim of finding solutions, of knowing what needs to be done, action-oriented,” he said.

Mr Laurence added the aim of the gathering is to bring youths, as well as more experienced people, together not only to share experiences but also provide guidance to the younger generation.

In her presentation, Veronique Morel, second secretary, International Relations of the Department of Foreign Affairs, talked on the external threats that can also affect Seychelles.

As examples she mentioned decisions taken in a country that can cause threats in another like President Donald Trump’s travel ban; conflicts and stability that can have drastic impacts on other countries in the region like the Syrian civil war and migrant crisis which create huge burden and socio-economic impacts on host countries.

She said we are not immune to these effects because we are a small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Our economy which is heavily dependent on imports and tourism, is very vulnerable to regional conflicts.

She also mentioned the global economic crisis of 2008 where the world’s economic system collapsed and Seychelles faced severe debt and financial crisis.

Robert Ah-Weng based his presentation on the very important fabric of peace in Seychelles which he said is civilisation and the individual itself.

He stressed on the importance of building peace within oneself.

He mentioned the various factors affecting peace in Seychelles like abuses in various forms like alcohol, drug, physical, sexual, emotional, negligence, aggression, violence, robbery and criminality.

In order to live and have peace, peace should be in an individual, family, community, region and society.

There was also a youth perspective on the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Seychelles and message from Angelique Pouponneau, vice-chair of Inclusion and Engagement of the Commonwealth Youth Council.

The event ended in group discussions and the way forward by Ziggy Adam, chairman of SNYC board.

Source: Seychelles NATION

The lucky winners of the Commonwealth poem competition were presented with their prizes in a short ceremony held yesterday morning at the University of Seychelles’ Anse Royale campus.

The prizes have been sponsored by Cable and Wireless Seychelles.

The poem competition was organised by the Sir James Mancham International Centre for Peace Studies and Diplomacy in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development and the private schools in Seychelles.

The objective of the competition was to raise awareness on how to promote peace on our planet through creative writing under the theme ‘a peace-building Commonwealth’ because the world is facing a time of increasing instability and uncertainty.

In the primary category it was Maha Shaukat from Independent School who won the first prize, with Melissa André of Mont Fleuri school in second place and Danica Baxen of Bel Eau school third.

For the secondary category, first prize went to Elsia Françoise from Anse Royale school, while Elia Savy from Ecole Française des Seychelles (EFS) took second place and Maeve Bonté from English River school finished in third place.

Elsia Françoise with her poem entitled ‘The earth revolving around peace’ was pleased to have won the first prize.

“My poem is about the different divisions in the world, such as racism, politics, religions. I wanted to visualise how the world would have been if we had peace all over the globe through creative writing. If we want peace, it all starts at home and at school, we all need to be able to communicate the same language of no violence,” she said.

Justin Valentin of the Faculty of Business and Sustainable Development stated that such competition was to enhance the thinking of the youths about peace.

“This creative writing competition, with great enthusiasm has demonstrated immense talent and ideas in translating a peace building Commonwealth. It has not been easy to judge the various work, but all the participants are winners for wanting to enhance their knowledge about peace,” he said.

All the schools who took part in the poem competition also received certificates of participation.

Source : Seychelles NATION

In November 2012, Seychelles joined the rest of the world to launch Orange Day following the announcement of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, when he proclaimed every 25^thof the month as Orange Day.

This initiative is part of the Unite to End Violence against Women international campaign, whose aim is to stimulate action across the UN system to gain prevention and punishment of perpetrators of violence against women. Various countries around the world where gender based violence is a major obstacle within their culture, observe and take part in various activities on the day, so as to support victims of gender based hate crimes and to promote intolerance towards such violations of humanity.

Seychelles has seen an unprecedented rise in levels of violence against women and murders in recent years. We need a change of minds, hearts and behavior if we want to put a stop to violence and build a peaceful future for our children.

As part of the campaign to end violence against women the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs Department are encouraging all institutions to join. They are visiting several institutions and making donations of banners that will be used for the campaign. Two representatives visited the Culture department where they made a donation of a banner to the Principal Secretary for Culture Ms. Benjamine Rose. The banner will be used on every 25^th of every month where it would be placed outside the building to sensitize the public on the matter.

We are urging all institutions to join us in our stand against Gender Based Violence by wearing orange on the 25^th of every month. Your small gesture will speak volumes and help initiate debate and break the silence surrounding this human rights abuse. Through greater awareness raising and prevention, we can together progress towards meeting national and regional targets of halving levels of Gender Based Violence.

On March 19, 2017, the Ste Anne Marine Park turns 44, making it the oldest marine park in the country.

To celebrate this important milestone in marine conservation in Seychelles, a series of activities are being organised by the Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA) and its partners.

The main event will be an Adventure Race, scheduled for Sunday March 19, staring at 9am on Long island.

Organised by SNPA, research partner GVI and the Sails Training Scheme, the race involves kayaking, running and swimming and it will take place among the different islands within the marine park.

The race consists of two categories, one for participants using the single kayak and an open category for everyone using their preferred choice of kayaks, canoes or boards.

Prizes will be awarded to winners in the two categories.

The race is open to the public, park users, residents of the islands and their guests.

Other activities planned for the celebration include presentations in schools, guided nature trails and tree planting.

SNPA wishes to thank its partners for their support and is hopeful that the race will be a success, helping to raise awareness on the oldest marine park in Seychelles and similarly allowing the public to enjoy and appreciate the park.

Anyone who wishes to take part in the race is advised to contact Isabelle on 2813992 for details.

St Anne Marine Park lies just a few kilometres off Victoria and is one of the most accessible and visited national parks in Seychelles. Created in 1973, the marine park covers an area of 14.53 km². It hosts extensive coral reefs, as well as some of the largest seagrass beds in the Seychelles.

Source : Seychelles NATION

Jeanne Simeon was sworn on Wednesday at the State House. (Patrick Joubert, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

The Seychelles’ Cabinet of Ministers now has four women after the swearing in of Jeanne Simeon as the Minister of Family Affairs on Wednesday at the State House.

The nomination of Simeon, 64, who was the Deputy Secretary for Cabinet Affairs in the Office of the President since October last year, was approved by the Seychelles National Assembly on Tuesday.

The new minister told reporters, “I feel proud as a woman to have been nominated as minister and responsible for a new portfolio. I am happy and express gratitude for the trust that the President has bestowed on me and I am ready to discharge my responsibility.”

The creation of a new Ministry for Family Affairs was announced by the Seychelles’ President Danny Faure in his State of the Nation’s Address in February.

State House also announced on Wednesday that the Ministry will have two departments  — the Family Affairs and Social Affairs Departments.

Faure had said that the island nation’s families are facing multiple social problems directly linked to housing issues and social ills and after discussion with various stakeholders, a ministry would be set up to coordinate all local efforts to address those challenges.

Minister Simeon and family members with President Faure (Patrick Joubert, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

Simeon said there are already many agencies working for the welfare of the family and that, “the role of the ministry is to first find out how much has been done and how we can work  with all those agencies to reinforce the programmes.”

She added that “if it is necessary to develop new ones (programmes) we will also do that.”

The new minister holds a Bachelor of Arts in Language and Linguistics Science from the University of York and a Master in Education Management and Teacher Training from the University of Leeds. Simeon has had a long and prominent career in education.

Simeon said the new ministry will take a more integrated approach and bring every-one onboard.

“We will also have a more coordinated approach because we have seen that we have certain challenges that are persisting in our society. If we want to deal with these challenges, we will   have to see what approaches are best for us to use.”

With the new ministry the Seychelles’ Cabinet of Ministers now has 13 members.