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‘Values’ Programme - Truly One for All |31 December 2014

 

 

 

Following its official launch on January 8, 2014, the Values Programme immediately established itself as the new chorus of the Seychelles National Youth Council and the Youth Department. With a value being launched every month, a new way of life is gradually settling in through a generation of youths and its workers. Although the fruits of the seeds sowed today will however require time to bloom, the programme can truly claim to be one for all.

From its humble origin sourcing from parents, educational institutions, work places and the youths themselves, the desire to see a society where good living values could claim its rightful place was high on the agenda. Convinced that such move requires concerted efforts, the programme set off through important meetings with members of the Seychelles Inter-Faith Council (Sifco), the Liaison Unit of Non-Governmental Organisations of Seychelles (Lungos) and the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI). Those were further enhanced through the consultative meetings in districts where inhabitants were explained its objectives and the contribution that they could make. It was welcomed by many and embraced by schools which were the ones to host the official launchings of the value of ‘Respect’ at English River secondary, ‘Responsibility’ at Anse Boileau secondary and ‘Honesty’ at the Seychelles Institute of Technology. Other schools were running away with the programme in their own special ways, as good living values were to them a familiar tune.

By April, the ‘Values’ programme had already infiltrated other youth programmes. The Outreach programme for S1 students during the April holidays embedded those values, be it at the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF), Anse Royale Jamboree or the Vallée de Mai activities. Youth workers were also fine-tuning their activities with values workshops and presentations.

The Seychelles Indian Ocean Tuna Company was the first work organisation to host the launching of a value – Unity for the month of May. By then concerns were already being raised that the programme may be leaving our small treasures behind. Yet, they should be the ones that should be given more prominence. The primary school students of Anse Aux Pins made all of us very proud as they unveiled the value of Patriotism in June. They soon joined the Cascade schoolchildren and took centre stage at the launch of the value of Aspiration elegantly hosted by the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) in July.

By then all would have gotten use to the ‘Valer pour Mwan, Valer pour nou Tou’ through the various spots on television and the radio. All? The SNYC deputy chief executive Alvin Laurence explained that then preliminary evaluation revealed that 98% of students had heard of the programme but only 31% understood its objectives. The complementary role of the media was also underlined as 85% claimed to have learned about it through the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation but understood its objective through the press.

The month of Discipline was launched at the Seychelles Police Academy in August, paving the way for the holding of a highly anticipated inter-generation conference during this year’s Youth Festival. It was during that conference that youths along with educators, sports ambassadors and our senior citizens met and proposed the values to be celebrated during 2015. Moreover as other youths raised concerns of the duration of the programme which was supposed to be three years, a special Youth Assembly sitting tabled a motion proposing for the programme to be ‘for life with evaluation taking place every five years’. The youth also criticised and made proposals on how to improve the programme. All these recommendations have been taken on board with a view to strengthening its appeal.



With Peace dominating the month of September, the value was launched under the patronage of the Sifco which is in itself a great symbol of peace in our country. Our various religious organisations had been the ones on the frontline inculcating good living values among the population. In the words of Archbishop French Chang-Him, ‘Let us not only talk about peace but let us live it every day’.

Consequently, it paved the way for the first launch that was to take place in the community; the Praslinois demonstrated why the value of Love requires profound consideration and application. Simultaneously the SPDF staged an impressive ceremony for the value of love on Mahé as they underlined how they have been focusing on all those values every month.



Gratitude, a value that the Ministry of Education and the National Council for Children had focused on in the past, was launched at all our homes for the elderly with young people pledging the future engagement and thanking our seniors for the contribution they have made in our society.

Finally, on La Digue the value of Compassion was launched for the month of December while several other activities such as blood donation, sharing of cards, Christmas carols and activities at Fiennes Institute at North East Point crowned the first year of the programme.

Now that the clock is winding down on the first year of introduction where much emphasis was placed on awareness, the challenges for 2015 and the coming years are even more superior. Evaluations carried out to date have shown the programme to be on the right track. This is in line with Vice-President Danny Faure’s declaration during his speech at its official launching, ‘we will use various means to evaluate the efficacy the programme is bringing to our schools, homes, work places and the community’. As such a private consultant is carrying out a major evaluation that will also establish the benchmarks for the years to come.

The future will harvest the fruit of today’s work. We can be sure that January will never be the same again.... and oh.... the values, they are surely and truly one for all.



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