Campaign empowering youth

As the island joins the rest of the world to celebrate International Youth Day, the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Community Empowerment is continuing to empower young people in Barbados.

To bolster youth engagement, ignite behavioural change and reduce the upward trend of crime and violence, the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Community Empowerment continues to focus on its Anti-Violence Campaign, which was launched on June 12, in a virtual multimedia concert carried on CBC TV 8 and social media.

The campaign’s dynamic mix of initiatives seeks to engage Barbadians, with a special youth focus, in a variety of interactive programmes and activities that foster an anti-violence mindset. Today, Thursday, August 12, International Youth Day, the finals of one such initiative, an anti-violence chanting competition, Gimme Peace Pun De Mic, will take place in a live broadcast on CBC TV8 at 2:00 p.m. and online @Facebook and YouTube on CBC Barbados and Division of Youth Affairs.

Gimme Peace Pun De Mic chanting competition was launched on July 26, 2021, and young persons, aged 13 to 29, were invited to create a one-minute chant under the theme ‘anti-violence’.  Conceptualised to give teens and young adults a platform to weigh in on the discussion of violence, participants submitted recordings of themselves creatively delivering statements, warnings and positive actions using the theme. 

Following online public voting with specific criteria for eligibility, five competitors advanced to the finals, which will be carried live on August 12.  Jodie Williams a.k.a willyXshabar, Adela Amina Payne, Joshua Oxley, Danesha Davis, and Orande Hamilton were chosen by likes via Instagram, while Stacey Atherley was the selected wildcard by the ‘Gimme Peace Pun De Mic’ Coordinating Committee.

At the start of the competition, Minister of Youth, Sports & Community Empowerment, Dwight Sutherland, will deliver remarks marking International Youth Day, and there will be guest performances featuring calls to end violence in Barbados. 

Who will be the winner of the inaugural Gimme Peace Pun De Mic competition? Tune in, vote and celebrate!

For more information on the finalists, competition rules, voting and prizes, visit the Division of Youth Affairs on Instagram @divyouth246 and on Facebook @divisionofyouthaffairs.