For instance
instead of opening Nobel Laureate Week with
a short speech followed by cultural performances
in a hall, which in the main is how the week
is launched annually, why not open the week
with banners and portraits of the two Nobel
laureates at Saint Lucia’s main points
of entry proclaiming to visitors that they
are entering the country of Nobel laureates.
Why can’t we open the week with the
government making a declaration that from
henceforth a selected book of poems from Sir
Derek Walcott will be on the syllabuses of
secondary school children on the island?
Why can’t Nobel Laureate Week open with
an activity or activities that would keep
in the minds of our young people how important
it is to have the discipline and intelligence
of Sir Derek and Sir Arthur?
I guarantee that after Nobel Laureate Week
comes to an end our students will hardly remember
the intelligence, the discipline that characterizes
our two Nobel laureates.
I could go on but the point I think is made.
The next task for organizers is to prevent
opportunity seekers jumping on the band wagon
of Nobel Laureate Week to promote their products,
which could be anything from the staging of
a show to the launching of a book, etc., etc.
This could dilute the significance of the
Week.
Discuss
Story
We
are well into what is now known as Nobel Laureate
Week. This is the 17th year we are observing
Nobel Laureate Week and like everything else
in this country that seems to have longevity,
people piggy back on. They shamelessly sponge
off of the efforts of others pretending that
what they are doing serves to enhance the original
event.
