Blakeney: ‘Empowerment of Our People’
[Updated with video] Development of an anti-doping sports act, the awarding of Cultural Legacy Fund grants to individuals and community organisations and groundbreaking on the new national swimming pool are just a few of the achievements of the last one hundred days, Minister of Youth, Families, Sports & Community Development Glenn Blakeney said this afternoon [Feb.3].
Minister Blakeney said his wide-ranging Ministry had also been busy organising a calendar of events for Bermuda’s observance of the centenary of International Women’s Day on March 8 and had launched an Entertainment Task Force to recommend initiatives for reviving the music industry.
His full statement appears below:
Good Afternoon Everyone,
I am pleased to provide a brief highlight of some of the accomplishments and new initiatives of the Ministry of Youth, Families, Sports and Community Development which I believe will preserve family life and the advancement of our children; encourage excellence in amateur sports locally and internationally; and promote the empowerment of our people through meaningful social programmes and initiatives.
The Department of Youth, Sports and Recreation has led development of an Anti-Doping in Sport Act. This legislation will establish the Bermuda Council for Drug-Free Sport as the Sport Anti-Doping Agency for Bermuda, which will have full responsibility for athlete testing, compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code and the provisions of the International Convention Against Doping in Sport.
The Department of Community and Cultural Affairs has awarded Cultural Legacy Fund grants to 21 recipients whose important work helps to sustain cultural programmes in the community. The Cultural Legacy Fund was established in 2009 as an annual series of awards to further promote the legacy of culture and heritage following from the celebration of Bermuda’s 400 years of continuous human settlement. The Fund aims to foster excellence, increase access and participation, and facilitate development and growth in culture, heritage and the arts. In 2010 the categories of awards included: dance, development, drama, film, heritage and culture performance, music, research in culture and heritage.
This evening at the Bermuda National Gallery the Ministry will launch a second poetry anthology entitled “This Poem-Worthy Place: a Bermuda Anthology of Poetry Volume II” featuring works of local poets.
The Department of Human Affairs’ website will go live in February and will include a Calendar of Events for the 100th anniversary of the International Women’s’ Day celebrations on March 8th. Bermuda’s 2011 theme for this event “Strong Women create Strong Communities” will be included on the International Women’s Day website at www.internationalwomensday.com. The website is intended to provide information regarding the activities that will be taking place around the world pertaining to the celebrations of the 100th Anniversary of the International Women’s Day.
Plans are also underway for a number of events to commemorate and highlight the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day and highlight the accomplishments of women in Bermuda during the past 100 years whose activities have furthered the opportunities for women and opened the doors to build a broader and more inclusive community.
The Ministry broke ground and commenced construction of a national swimming pool at the National Sports Centre. The Department of Youth, Sports and Recreation has undertaken a review of our Sports Policy, and revised National Sports Policy will soon be completed.
New initiatives include work on drafting of a new National Cultural Heritage Policy; the formation of an Entertainment Task Force to examine how to revitalise the music and entertainment industry in Bermuda; a new programme called “Conversations with the Minister” during Heritage Month to celebrate Bermuda’s traditions in culture and history; and the production of the first in a series of Folklife Documentary projects, among various others.
Thank you.
Somebody who refuses to take a drug test is in charge of a Ministry which suposedly wants drug free spoorts.
Am I missing something here?
How much credibility does this Minister have?
None.
l am white, this entire thing surely must exclude me right gGlen?