~~Adz:Left~~(Grand Bahama Island) In an award ceremony today at the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Conference in Grand Bahama Island, Klara Glowczewska, Editor in Chief of Condé Nast Traveler, announced that nine-year-old Joseph Archibald-Bowers of British Virgin Islands was the winner of the the Condé Nast Traveler "My Caribbean" Essay Contest.
Glowczewska also announced the two runners-up: Jasherel Wielzen of Suriname and Joshua Tuson of Grenada. This contest, now in its 14th year, is the first of its kind for Caribbean school children, and has become a symbol of Condé Nast Traveler's commitment to the development of the Caribbean.
Grand prize winner Archibald-Bowers received a $2,000 scholarship and the two runners-up each received a $500 scholarship. Archibald-Bowers' winning essay will also be featured in the January 2007 issue of Condé Nast Traveler.
Given the topic: "Imagine that you are a travel journalist and you have been assigned to write a story about your country for Condé Nast Traveler. Remember that our editorial mission is Truth in Travel, and we like to go beneath the surface to show people more than just the usual tourist spots," Archibald-Bowers wrote:
~~Adz:Right~~"We shall begin with a hotspot for food. Midtown Restaurant in the middle of Road Town is the best place for a juicy hamburger with everything on it with a big plate of French fries.
I know you've had hamburgers where you've come from, but I'm telling you, Gloria, the owner, has a secret ingredient that gives her hamburgers a Tortolan twist. You can enjoy your hamburgers with a refreshing drink of tamarind, soursop, guava, or passion fruit juice, all freshly made local drinks."
This annual contest is part of a tourism awareness program for school children between the ages of 8 and 12. Each of the 26 finalists attending the Caribbean Tourism Conference will receive an eye-opening experience into the world of tourism.
~~Adz:Left~~The contest, sponsored by Condé Nast Traveler, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, American Airlines, Pelican Bay Hotel, UNEXSO Grand Bahama, and the Grand Bahama ISLAND magazine, educates elementary school children in the Caribbean about the importance of tourism to their country. Grade school children of the 32 CTO member countries were asked to submit a 250 word essay on the topic referenced above.
This year's 26 finalists in alphabetical order by country are:
Anguilla, Vince Webster
Aruba, Belinda Ho
The Bahamas, Shanté Swan
Barbados, Ashley Harris
Belize, Vivian Courtenay
Bermuda, Sarah Hopkin
British Virgin Islands, Joseph Archibald-Bowers
Cayman Islands, Ashley Amador
Dominica, Jawole Mandisa Joseph
Dominican Republic, Virginia Núñez Mir
Grenada, Joshua Tuson
Guyana, Sidonia Peters
Haiti, Christina Melodie Beauboeuf
Jamaica, Renee Duhaney
Martinique, Daphne Xavier Maximin-Anne
Montserrat, Tiffannie Skerritt
Nevis, Austine Liburd
St. Eustatius, Reinalda Fleming
St. Kitts, Renicia McDonald
St. Lucia, Nadege Boriel
St. Maarten, Alexandria Stanford
St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Yahtibah Speedwell
Suriname, Jasherel Wielzen
Trinidad & Tobago, Kyle Ramdeo
Turks & Caicos, Crivanne Adams
U.S. Virgin Islands, Tequan Cruse
About Condé Nast Traveler
Condé Nast Traveler's philosophy of "Truth in Travel", where writers pay their own way, travel unannounced, and are independent from the travel industry, is unique in the publishing industry. The result is that Condé Nast Traveler reports on travel the way consumers experience it: freely, fairly, honestly.
The editorial leader in the field, Condé Nast Traveler has won 6 National Magazine Awards, the highest honor in magazine publishing. Condé Nast Traveler, the 2005 Zagat Survey Best Travel Magazine and a 2004 Advertising Age "A-List" magazine, has a rate base of 775,000 and is published by Condé Nast Publications, Inc.
