This was according to Novelette Morton, Senior Tourism Projects Officer, during her (May 15) appearance on “Working for You”
“We thought that would add an interesting dimension to the whole competition because once ago the village shops would basically be hubs in villages and communities. Everybody went there to socialize, to buy their bread and whatever food and snacks they required,” said Ms. Morton. “And so, we wanted to bring back the whole idea of a best village shop because that brings a cultural dimension to the whole competition.”
Other categories of the completion include best clean and green area; best kept neighbourhood; best home garden, which will be divided into two parts namely, vegetable and ornamental; best sponsored roundabout; best village grandparent and best sustainability programme.
Ms. Morton said that the best village grandparent is to honour older persons in communities who have played a significant role in the lives of others.
“This basically pays tribute to somebody who is 65 years and older who basically nurtured a number of young people in the communities, who provided discipline, who might have provided financial help and or counselling,” she said.
When it comes to best sustainability programme she stated, “clean and green area and best kept neighbourhood all contain elements of sustainability, the whole idea of preserving our environment.”
“But sustainability just doesn’t speak to environment alone. It talks about cultural development and preservation and it also speaks to livelihoods, the importance of ensuring that our people enjoy a decent quality of life and that they can earn income from various projects,” said the senior tourism projects officer.
For the best sponsored roundabout category, businesses or organizations with sponsored roundabouts will compete against themselves and not with other communities. Ms. Morton said that the idea behind such a category was so that businesses were not penalized for adopting spaces. “We felt if they were made a part of the competition, generally speaking they would have an unfair advantage over other communities. So, we are bringing them onboard,” she added.
