PRESS
RELEASE
WW1
Centenary – Poetry Competition
The
British High Commission in collaboration with the French Embassy and
Alliance Française have been running a programme of activities since
11 November 2014 to commemorate the centenary of the First World War.
As part of this year’s activities we are organising a poetry
competition with the theme being War
under the patronage of the Hon
Sir Derek Walcott.
This
competition is open to persons from the islands of St Lucia, St
Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica between the ages of 16-35.
Poems can be in either English or French and there will be a prize of
an Acer Tablet in each language category in each island. Entries
should be submitted to communication@afslu.org by 31 October 2016.
Rules for the competition are available at www.afslu.com.
The winners of the competition will be announced at a special
ceremony on Armistice Day 11 November 2016.
The
Armistice Day ceremony will also feature a special screening of an
Imperial War Museum restored film 'The Battle of the Somme',
originally produced and shown in 1916. The first day of the Battle of
the Somme was probably one of the most striking moments of the First
World War (WWI) as that day alone resulted in nearly 20,000 British
deaths and 60,000 British casualties, still the worst day on record
for the British Army. But the battle was not just one day; it
lasted until 18 November 1916 and involved not just Britain and
Germany but took place on French soil and French troops held part of
the line. It has also been estimated that there were
representatives of between 30-60 nations, including the Caribbean, at
the Somme.
An
exhibition “L’industrie du rhum et la Grande Guerre” will
also be launched at the ceremony. This exhibition will highlight
the importance of the rum industry during WW1 and will run through
the month of November.
