Caribbean and Latin American Students Create Posters to Save the Planet

Nearly US $26,000 in prizes and scholarships awarded.

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. (July 18, 2012) – Each year, the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) invites students from the Caribbean and Latin America to participate in the annual FCCA Foundation Children’s Environmental Poster Competition.

This year, 15 destinations throughout the Caribbean and Latin American region participated. One entry per category was selected as a winner for the best message that advocated the role each destination plays in preserving the environment.

The winning students were announced on June 1, 2012. Nearly US$26,000 in prizes and scholarships were awarded to students ages 16 and under and their schools.

Winners included 10-year-old Enya Noel of Westmorland School from Grenada in the junior division (ages 12 and younger) and 16-year-old Kerri Bascom of Queen’s College from the Bahamas in the senior division (ages 13-16). This is the second consecutive win for Kerri in the senior division.

Students were asked to create a poster that visually depicted at least three ways to help protect the environment and promote environmental awareness in their country. The competition’s purpose is to promote and stimulate environmental awareness among students and to effectively educate the younger generations on the importance of environmental protection.

Each country submitted one poster in each age category to represent its finalists. Enya Noel’s poster “Do You Care About Our Marine and Coastal Environment?” displays the direct negative impact on marine life and what can be done to prevent this through anti-littering posters, stricter policies for sand mining and placing more trash bins around local beaches.

Kerri Bascom’s poster “Overheated – Global Warming” illustrates the different ways in preserving our environment, as well as the dangers and consequences of global warming. The poster depicts the many ways in which the local community can prevent this by planting trees, ending the burning of fossil fuels and recycling.    

The FCCA also congratulates the second and third-place winners in each division. Second-place finalists were 8-year-old Alisha Kee from Cayman Islands in the junior category and 14-year-old Jordanny Williams from Belize in the senior category. Third-place winners were 11-year-old Nazeem Segura from Belize in the junior category and 16-year-old Emilie Van der Waals from St. Maarten in the senior category.

Second-place winners in both categories will each receive US$1,500, and third-place winners will receive US$1,000. The top winners, Enya and Kerri, will each receive an educational scholarship of US$3,000. The FCCA will also award the schools of the first, second, and third-place winners in both categories the same amount received by their winning student in lieu of art supplies. The other finalists in each division will receive US$200 to reward their participation and good work.

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