Youth Festival closes with Sesel Enspir Mwan 2019 awards, cultural celebration |31 August 2019
The prize presentation ceremony
The Youth Festival 2019 came to a close on Wednesday during a ceremony hosted by the Seychelles National Youth Council in which winners from the Sesel Enspir Mwan 2019 competition were awarded.
The three-hour long ceremony featured a dazzling presentation celebrating the 249th anniversary of the first settlement in Seychelles as well as numerous cultural performances and presentations and it was attended by Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) board members, principal secretary for poverty alleviation Alvin Laurence, chief executive of SNYC Penny Belmont as well as the SNYC management, youths, some of whom were recipients of prizes for competitions held during the Youth Festival and the Sesel Enspir Mwan 2019 competition, and their parents.
During her opening address, CEO Belmont expressed gratitude to all who have in one way or another contributed towards the realisation and success of the 20th Youth Festival. Ms Belmont also emphasised that this is but the beginning as SNYC continues with its efforts to engage Seychellois youths through different means. She revealed that a new mentorship programme is to be introduced in recognition of youth achievers and in a bid to motivate and inspire other youths to be proactive and driven.
Aside from the performances by talented youths, the highlight of the evening for many was the Sesel Enspir Mwan 2019 competition awards which focus on originality and comprise different categories including painting, song, poems and photography.
The winners in each respective category were:
Photography first category: 1st Mandy Paul, 2nd Rania Cushion, 3rd Valerie Hoareau
Photography second category: 1st Saltamatuna Gomme, 2nd Mona Dodin, 3rd Hazel Robert
Painting first category: 1st Selly Robert, 2nd Sylvius Laporte, 3rd Lester Lepathy
Painting second category: 1st Mona Dodin, 2nd Raphaella Padayachy
Poetry first category: 1st Shamira Bastienne, 2nd Lizbeth Marie, 3rd Selly Robert
Poetry second category: 1st Frances Barra, 2nd Tania Libanotis, 3rd Tania Libanotis
Song first category: 1st Mont Fleuri Group, 2nd Nishereen Kilindo, 3rd Aisha Roseline
Song second category: 1st Emmanuelle Perreau, 2nd Jimmy Gingadoo, 3rd Elijah Asman.
The award segment was followed by musical performances by several popular artists including Elijah and Reuben and dance groups, while dance group Emergency Crew wowed the audience with a brief presentation of the Nou Lorizin show to be staged later this year in October.
SYNC started commemorating the first settlement in Seychelles in 2015 and Nou Lorizin was first started in December 2018 but is being revamped for the upcoming October show.
