National Day cultural spectacle |01 August 2022
The participants in a souvenir photograph with Minister Ferrari and CEO Belmont at Saturday’s gathering (Photo: Vidya Gappy)
Youngsters thanked for their ‘awesome’ display
Two hundred and fifty youngsters were hosted by the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC) to a gathering on Saturday to thank them for their participation in this year’s National Day cultural spectacle.
The cultural display, which took place alongside the National Day parade, saw the participation of 450 people in total but SNYC could invite only 250 for the first gathering.
In attendance was Designated Minister Jean-François Ferrari, the chief executive of SNYC Penny Belmont and her deputy Ghislaine Belmont.
The participants received certificates which were presented to them by Minister Ferrari.
The minister thanked all the participants for their awesome display. “I am here mainly to thank you as you did such a wonderful job so that I did not lose mine. I will be here next year,” said Minister Ferrari jokingly.
He further conveyed the appreciation of President Wavel Ramkalawan and the government for the job well done.
Minister Ferrari said that it was impossible to invite all the 450 participants at State House for the gathering hence the reason why they chose the Back Stage Restaurant/Lounge at Roche Caiman for the celebration.
CEO Belmont explained that this year they were not sure if there would be a celebration. “We had only the months of May and June to prepare for the National Day and the participants were aged from 9 to 18 years old. In 2019, we had 700 young people participating and this year after the pandemic we were able to cater for 450. We thank the parents, the facilitators and the SNYC staff.”
Marie-Eve Constance, who is 13 years old, comes from Mont Fleuri secondary school and she participated in this activity for the first time.
“I always heard my friends talking about these national events and I always wanted to participate. The last two months were full of excitement including its disputes but we learned a lot. On the day of the performance, I was quite scared but went ahead with full confidence.”
Anisha Mathiot, 14 years, from Pointe Larue school shared that participating in this activity allowed her to make to new friends but also toughened her.
Jean-Paul Faure, 14 years, is from Mont Fleuri school and learned about the show through the school. “I am very happy to have participated and also dance for my country.”
Andriano Florentine, 15 years old, excitedly shared that he found the last two months exciting and fun. “On the day of the performance, I was a bit scared but seeing all my friends gave me the confidence to perform.”
To conclude, Ms Belmont shared that after this show, they are getting ready for next year and as from November they will start selecting the participants. But two weeks ago, they already started auditioning for vocal talents.
This year’s National Day spectacle and parade did not take place on June 29 (National Day) but was postponed to July 3 on account of bad weather.
The next activity for SNYC is the Youth Festival from August 12 to August 21, 2022.
Vidya Gappy
