Students from Antigua and Barbuda formed part of a recently held international video conferencing forum, which included other students from Venice, Italy and New York. The ten-day long session, organized locally by the Halo Foundation, focused on the overall topic “Environmental Justice as a Civil Right”, and engaged the students in discussions about the aftermath of Hurricane Irma as well as other topics, ranging from their social and economic experiences of living on an island to the modernization of technology and how this compares in the various countries of the world.
The discussions took place in preparation for the launch of the national pavilion of Antigua and Barbuda at the 16th International Venice Biennale during which the Government House, a historic building on the World Monument Watch List 2018, will be featured. H.E. Lady Williams, President and Founder of the Halo Foundation, noted that “as part of Halo’s objectives to focus on youth, it is the intention to send three young Antiguan and Barbudan nationals to attend the Biennale in two-month rotations for the 6-month exhibition”, which runs from May to November 2018.
Dr. Barbara Paca, Curator of the National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, said that ” these sessions were beneficial because they gave the students the ability to engage positively with their peers, and more importantly, they opened up a forum where the youth can voice an opinion”.
Students from the Antigua State College, Antigua Girls’ High School, Antigua Grammar School, All Saints Secondary, Clare Hall Secondary, Princess Margaret Secondary, Ottos Comprehensive, Seaview Academy and the Nyahbinghi Theocracy Church School all participated in the sessions held at Government House.
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