NCC Hosts Carnival Workshop For Teachers

Port of Spain, Trinidad, November 12, 2018: More than 30 teachers, educators, and representatives participated in the National Carnival Commission’s (NCC) inaugural Carnival Workshop entitled “Transmission of the Carnival Arts Through Education” held on Thursday, November 8 at the NCC’s VIP Lounge, Queen’s Park Savannah.

The Workshop, the first in a series aimed at engaging educators across Trinidad and Tobago, was hosted with the aim of sensitising primary and secondary schools teachers in the Port of Spain area to the value of Carnival, as well as underscoring their roles in encouraging schoolchildren to better appreciate Carnival’s many intricacies, including its history, cultural significance, and business and youth empowerment potential.

Among the list of feature presenters were Dr. Hollis Liverpool, Dr. Kim Johnson, Nestor Sullivan, Dr. Rudy Ottley, Rosalind Gabriel, and Teisha Castillo, who spoke on a wide range of topics, including An Overview of the History of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, School Involvement in Carnival, Music and Steelpan in Carnival, and the Production of a Carnival School Band.

Several representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association, both partners with the NCC in hosting the workshop, were also on hand on Thursday.

In welcoming the participants, Deputy Chairman, NCC, Davlin Thomas encouraged the participants to make the most of it.

“Today is about honouring our past, taking stock of our present, and getting down to the business of safeguarding our future,” Thomas said.

“In showing up today, you have earned our sincerest respect and admiration. We have a tough job ahead, guiding and encouraging our children along that very same path of love and respect for the Carnival tradition that we have walked before.

“Whether you are a teacher, educator, parent or guardian, when you look in your young one’s eyes, know that you have a responsibility. You are responsible for playing your part in nurturing that cultural curiosity in young minds and hearts so that it develops into the kind of love and appreciation necessary for Carnival’s very survival.”

At the workshop’s close, participants were presented certificates of completion.

Deputy Chairman, NCC, Davlin Thomas welcomes the inaugural session during his address

Guest Speaker, Renowned Calypsonian, Beloved Scholar, Dr. Hollis Liverpool tells a story of music, history, and culture as only he can.

The inaugural participants for 2018