National Archives-Ambitious projects on the cards |30 November 2006

The first will be the launching of a History Fair, which will replace the annual Captain Webb Award, and the other will be the setting up of a Friends of the National Archives Association.

This was announced by the principal secretary for the Arts, Culture & Sports, Denis Rose, while presiding over this year’s Captain Webb Award prize-giving ceremony, organized by the Seychelles National Archives.

Elaborating on the History Fair project, Mr Rose said that the initiative, which is a collaboration between the Ministry of the Arts, Culture and Sports and the Ministry of Education, will be launched in January 2007.

“The National Archives is expected to meet with all History teachers in schools early in the year to explain the different modalities of this event, in order to ensure that all participants are well informed as to how they can best contribute to this project,” Mr Rose said.

Mr Rose said that the Friends of the National Archives Association, which will also be set up next year, will operate similarly to an NGO, and will group private individuals and organizations, who will initiate projects that will help in the development, preservation, and diffusion of the country’s documented history and cultural heritage.

The PS has invited anyone who wants to become a member of the Friends of the Archives to contact the staff of the National Archives.

The Captain Webb Award prize giving ceremony, which took place last Friday at the National Archives, was attended by the Minister for the Arts, Culture & Sports, Sylvette Pool; the British High Commissioner, Diana Skingle; invited guests and some of the prize winners. It is to be noted that due to exam commitments, most of the students who were to receive prizes could not attend the ceremony.

The Captain Webb Award is an annual activity which has been organized for the past four years to encourage students in the primary and secondary schools to stimulate their interest and research in Seychelles’ history as well as the country’s National Heritage.

This year’s theme on which the students had to base their entries (which took the forms of drawings and essays) was The Traditional Costumes of Seychelles.

In his speech, Mr Rose noted that through projects of this nature, it is hoped that students will be able to learn more about their country’s history and culture, as well as acquire research and interviewing skills.  
The Captain Webb Award competition was divided into five categories: P1-P3, P4-P6, S1-S3, S4-S5, and School for the Exceptional Child.

The first prize in the P1-P3 category was won by Miguel Florentine from Plaisance Primary School, the second prize was awarded to Melissa Mathiot of Bel Eau School, and the third prize went to Darren Khanny. The first and third prizes were sponsored by the Seychelles Ports Authority and presented by Unice Romain from the Authority, whereas the second prize was sponsored by the Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources and presented by Lena Desaubin from that ministry.

In the P4-P6 category the first prize was won by Francis Adrienne form Beau Vallon School. The second prize was won by two students – Alvaj Asman and Steve Gappy from Cascade School, and the third prize winner was Wayne Adeline from Anse Etoile School. All three prizes were sponsored by Cable and Wireless Seychelles and were presented by David Deltel from the company.

Winners from the School for the Exceptional Child were Richard Sophola, Joniese Pool and Richard Sophola in first, second and third places respectively. All prizes in this category were sponsored by the Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources and presented by Lena Desaubin from that same ministry.

In the S1-S3 category, the first, second and third prize winners were Jehu Marie, Sabrina Fred and Andy Port-Louis respectively.  Their prizes were sponsored by the Ministry of the Arts, Culture & Sports and were handed over by Minister Sylvette Pool.

In the S4-S5 category the first and second prize winners were Shilangi Senverma and Tracy Tirant. Their prizes were sponsored by the British High Commission and presented by H.E. Ms Skingle.

The Best Student at secondary level was Jehu Marie of Belonie School. His prize was presented by Peter Lalande from the National Archives and was sponsored by Acajou Hotel on La Digue.

Francis Adrienne of Beau Vallon School was the Best Student at primary level. His prize was sponsored by Helicopter Seychelles, presented by Shirley Moncherry of the National Archives.

Best Student for the School of the Exceptional Child was won by Richard Sophola and his prize was sponsored by Air Seychelles.

Anse Etoile was awarded best primary school and their prize was sponsored by Cat Cocos and presented by a representative of the company.

Best secondary school was won by Plaisance and their prize was sponsored by Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Hotel. 

During the ceremony Guy Christophe, Premier Conseiller in the French Embassy, presented to the National Archives two CD ROMs on which feature old maps of Seychelles which were drawn by both the French and British in the eighteenth century. In addition to the CDs, Mr Christophe also handed over a number of acid-free boxes which are used to store archive documents. The donations were received by Peter Lalande of the National Archives.

Parallel with the award presentation ceremony, the National Archives also hosted a photo exhibition showcasing traditional dresses worn by the Seychellois, in a bid to complement the work done by the school children in the competition.