Intellectual Property photo competition |16 July 2022

The competition winners: (l to r) Brisiola Niole, Dionne Renaud and Kelly Jean Charles (Photo: Salome Abel)

 Brisiola Niole excels

Brisiola Niole, a 25-year-old third year student at the Seychelles Institute of Art and Design (Siad), is the winner of a photography competition organised to mark World Intellectual Property Day 2022.

The Intellectual Property (IP) photography competition under the theme ‘Climate Change and Climate Actions: Mother Earth, through our lenses’ was organised collaboratively by the Trade Division, the Registration Division and the United States embassy for Mauritius and Seychelles, based in Port Louis, Mauritius. It was open to Seychellois aged 18 to 35 years.

Ms Niole received her certificate and a cash prize of R3000 from the US embassy political and economic assistant, Marie-Annette Ernesta, in a small ceremony held this week at the Trade Division, Maison Esplanade. Present were the principal secretary for Trade, Ronald Cafrine, Registrar representative Fred Hoareau and staff from the Trade Division.

The competition was part of activities to mark World IP Day 2022 under the theme ‘Intellectual Property and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future’ and the aim was to capture the young people’s imagination around the subject of Climate Change impacts and to illustrate that through photography.

Ms Niole’s winning photograph titled ‘Pathway of protection’ is that of a picture of the mangroves at Roche Caiman which illustrates the action of fighting climate change whereby the mangroves are one of the best allies of tidal wetland.

“When I learned about the topic of the competition, the mangroves came to mind as the best sources in the fight against climate change as it acts as a source of prevention against erosion of our coastal areas. I had planned to take the mangroves at Port Launay for the competition but I did not get the chance to go there. All the same I am very happy I took that one at Roche Caiman which earned me the first prize,” said Ms Niole.  

The second prize went to Dionne Renaud who received a certificate and cash prize of R2000. Her photo, the rock armouring at Anse Royale entitled ‘A way to protect’, illustrates how man-made objects can go directly into the ocean and affect biodiversity, and how we try to avoid erosion by building rock wall.

As the third prize winner, Kelly Jean Charles received a certificate and cash prize of R1500. Her photo, entitled ‘Dead Sea’, was also taken at Anse Royale. Captured where the water from the marsh flows into the sea, her photo demonstrates how man-made items can lead to death of marine animals and destroy corals. The two students are also from Siad.

In his opening remarks, Mr Cafrine said that the IP committee strongly believes that IP has huge potentials for the country and it is for this reason that they want to associate IP with the youths, the future of the country and the world.

He noted that “the kind of innovative and creative thinking that goes into creating IP is something that should be instilled in the Seychellois youth from an early stage, and through our various activities, we continue to encourage and increase the youth’s involvement in this field”.

Mr Cafrine thanked the U.S. embassy for its continued support toward promoting awareness of IP and highlighted the importance of IP as an incentive for improving livelihoods, fostering creativity, and building economic resilience.

During the ceremony, the U.S. embassy’s economic officer, Catherine Volman, said through a video message: “World IP Day is a wonderful opportunity to bring intellectual property to life by showcasing how IP rights spur innovation, celebrate local cultures, promote education, and cultivate the arts. Celebrating World IP Day is also a chance to encourage more countries to use the IP system: to file patents, to register trademarks, and to copyright creative works.”

In a closing remark, Ms Ernesta said that the US embassy hopes that the project has contributed towards educating youth on the importance of Intellectual Property rights, and on how young inventors, creators, and entrepreneurs can use intellectual property to achieve their goals, generate income, create jobs, tackle local and global challenges, and support community and national development.

The photography competition was funded by the U.S. department of State’s Economic Bureau to mark World Intellectual Property Day 2022, and forms part of an IP education project that included a webinar held in April, and an IP quiz contest for students held in May.

Patrick Joubert/Press release from U.S. embassy