6 September 2021
The St Helena Chevening Alumni – Dax Richards, Pamela Constantine, Tracey Williams, Tara Wortley and Zedella Young, and current scholar Gareth Drabble will shortly be embarking on a project to educate young people on St Helena on the Island’s governance structure. This Project is being pursued under the Chevening Alumni Programme Fund (CAPF) facilitated by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). CAPF allows alumni groups within countries running the Chevening Programme to submit bids for funding to carry out projects that will make a positive change within their country. Back in February this year the St Helena Chevening alumni submitted a bid entitled ‘Governing Our Future’ and were informed in July that they were successful.
CAPF Projects are usually of an educational nature and are delivered through a range of promotional activities and events which provide a forum for debate and discussion. Projects are centred around various thematic areas that the UK Government gives focus to, and can include topics such as education, human rights, governance, climate change, media freedom and public health etc.
Since the Governance Reform has been a hot topic on the Island, the St Helena Chevening Alumni decided to base their proposal on educating the youth on the Island’s political structure and the change that it is currently undergoing. During the Governance Reform consultation exercise conducted by the local Governance Commission earlier this year, it had been identified that there was a high proportion of young people wanting to be better informed on how the local Government works, as this is not routinely taught in schools.
St Helena is at an historical moment with the upcoming elections for a new council to take forward the Ministerial Government. The alumni will use this as a springboard to engage with students of Years 11, 12 and 13 of Prince Andrew School. They plan to hold meetings and workshops and invite relevant stakeholders to help students learn how the new Ministerial Government will function. Students will be encouraged to give their visions of a future St Helena and how they would like to be governed. The outcome of the Project will be twofold – In addition to improving students’ political knowledge, the planned activities will also improve their presentation and debate skills and build confidence to openly interact and engage with an audience in any subject.
In continuing the work of the alumni, it is hoped that the Project will pave the way for some form of political affairs subject to be incorporated into the school curriculum, the aim being to inspire young people from an early age to become involved in St Helena’s political arena and instil aspirations of leadership.
Chevening Scholarships
Applications to study for a Chevening Scholarship are now being accepted. The Programme allows postgraduate study in the UK for a period of one year in any subject. Visit www.chevening.org or contact Kerry Lane at Kerry.Lane@fcdo.gov.uk for more information on applying. On completion of your studies you will join the Chevening alumni community, numbering over 50,000 worldwide and made up of a highly regarded network of individuals from a range of different professions. Apply for a Chevening Scholarship and make a positive change.
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Governor’s Office, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
6 September 2021