Over recent times, increasing attention has been given to the development of Performance Indicators (PI) for schools. However, much ofthis work is characterised by the assumption that PIs will somehow ‘speak for themselves’ and little effort has been made to explore how they can be used to promote school improvement. In a meeting between education .
FORT LAUDERDALE (USA), Jan 31 9NNN-CNN) — Porthole Cruise Magazine, the leading North American consumer magazine in the field, has named Saint Lucia the Best Caribbean Island for 2010.
In the magazine’s Editor-In-Chief’s 2010 Awards, Saint Lucia received the number one selection, while Soufrière’s Jade Mountain was named the Best Caribbean Resort.
“With its dramatic scenery, rich history and vibrant culture, Saint Lucia truly is a Caribbean gem,” said Bill Panoff, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Fort Lauderdale-based magazine.
“You can never forget your first sight of Saint Lucia’s majestic Pitons rising from the sea. With its many attributes, Saint Lucia is poised to develop even more as a major cruise destination in the eastern Caribbean.”
Senator Allen Chastanet, Saint Lucia’s Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, said “this recognition tells us we are moving in the right direction. We have made strong progress in improving our cruise tourism product, and continue to work towards ensuring our visitors have the best experience.”
Congratulating Jade Mountain for chalking up yet another accolade that puts Saint Lucia on the map, Chastanet added: “We have set a goal to become a marquee tourism destination in the Caribbean, and these world class recognitions confirm that we are right on track.”
From cover to cover, Porthole Cruise Magazine features expertly written, sophisticated cruise and travel editorial for savvy consumers worldwide. Seasoned travel writers feature stories, opinions, tips, and insights into the places they go and adventures they experience. Writers and columnists cover everything from the latest trends in cruise travel to ship reviews, cuisine, popular culture and entertainment, luxury travel tips, and humor.
The Saint Lucia accolades appear in the magazine’s February 2010 edition, which is currently available on newsstands across North America. — NNN-CARIBBEAN NET NEWS
PORT OF SPAIN (TRINIDAD), Jan 31 (NNN-CNN) — In a move to increase Trinidad and Tobago?s share of the lucrative global tourism market, the Tourism Development Company Limited (TDC) has launched a National Tourism Quality Service Improvement Programme (NTQSIP).
A three year multi-faceted programme with a projected cost of TT$9 million, the NTQSIP aims to train and develop tourism industry service providers to improve the quality of service delivery in the tourism industry.
?Merely developing sites and attractions or putting in place an aggressive marketing strategy will not be enough to achieve our long-term growth targets for our local tourism industry. We are putting in place an integrated plan and we are paying more attention to service excellence in particular, as ultimately, it is visitors? experience in our country that will make them want to return or not,? said Trinidad and Tobago?s Tourism Minister Joseph Ross at the launch of the programme.
The TDC has partnered with FreemanGroup Service Solutions to roll-out the programme which targets all hospitality employees, ports of entry personnel, academia and hospitality students with a comprehensive and integrated approach to building a sustainable culture of service excellence in Trinidad and Tobago.
?The National Tourism Quality Service Improvement Programme will be an ideal platform to visibly change the national culture emphasising excellence in customer service at all levels and on a continuous basis,? the Tourism Minister added.
Also speaking at the launch, which was attended by key business, Government and tourism industry stakeholders, was TDC Chairman Brian Awang.
?As the world economy recovers and we prepare for an upsurge in business opportunities following the successful hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and Fifth Summit of the Americas, there is no better time to embark on this critical cultural change,? said Awang.
In a 30 minute presentation, Bill Freeman, CEO of FreemanGroup Service Solutions, explained the scheduled roll-out of the programme, which will include a comprehensive diagnostic of the product, policy development and implementation of intensive training and mentorship programmes to ensure that a culture of quality service becomes ingrained in the national psyche.
?Industry and societal adaptation and adoption of an attitude towards a culture of service excellence, as will be fostered by the National Tourism Quality Service Improvement Programme, is not only for foreign visitors, but for ourselves. This initiative is first, and foremost, for an improved quality of life and enrichment of the people of Trinidad and Tobago,? noted TDC President and Director of Tourism Ernest Littles in his remarks.
The NTQSIP is the latest in a series of ongoing quality service initiatives which include customer service training for tour guides, tour operators, transport providers and personnel within our ports of entry and a ?We Too Nice Not To Be Nice? public sensitisation campaign.
The TDC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Tobago House of Assembly, also continues to work closely with the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards in the implementation of national tourism standards and codes of practice covering a broad range of service providers in the tourism industry. — NNN-CARIBBEAN NET NEWS
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ — Miss Virginia Caressa Cameron from Fredericksburg, VA was crowned Miss America 2010 Saturday night at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The final night of the Miss America Pageant was broadcast live from Las Vegas on TLC and hosted by Mario Lopez and TLC’s Clinton Kelly.
Caressa’s triumphant walk across the stage was just the beginning of a journey that will take her to every corner of the country during her year of service as Miss America 2010. She will travel approximately 20,000 miles each month speaking to audiences about her personal platform of “Real Talk: Aids in America,” and acting as the official National Goodwill Ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network. Children’s Miracle Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals, is the national platform partner of the Miss America Organization.
As Miss America 2010, Caressa will have her entire wardrobe provided by Joseph Ribkoff International Clothing and shoe wardrobe provided by DSW Warehouse. She will also be provided with skincare and cosmetics by Artistry Cosmetics exclusively from Amway Global. In addition, Caressa will help support the Miss America Organization’s efforts to go green by being the official spokesperson for Nature’s Bottles.
Caressa is a student at Virginia Commonwealth University with a major in Broadcast Communications. Her scholastic ambition is to obtain a master’s degree in Mass Communications and she ultimately hopes to become an anchor for a television news station. Along with the title of Miss America 2010, Caressa won a $50,000 scholarship, sponsored by Amway Global, to continue her education. For the talent portion of the competition, Caressa sang “Listen,” from the movie, Dreamgirls.
The first runner-up was Miss California Kristy Cavinder who earned a $25,000 scholarship. Her talent performance was ballet en pointe and her personal platform is the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
Second runner-up honors and a $20,000 scholarship were awarded to Miss Tennessee Stefanie Wittler. Her talent was vocal, and her personal platform is Ronald McDonald House Charities.
As the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women and one of the nation’s leading achievement programs, the Miss America Organization last year made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance. The Miss America Organization provides young women with a vehicle to further their personal and professional goals and instills a spirit of community service through a variety of nationwide community-based programs.
Additional information about the Miss America Organization can be found at www.MissAmerica.org.
For up-to-the-minute competition news and information, as well as downloadable high-resolution images of Miss America 2010 Caressa Cameron and the 2009 contestants, visit the 24-hour online pressroom at www.MissAmericaPressRoom.com.
To download photos of tonight’s crowning moment, go to www.missamerica.org.
About the Miss America Organization
The Miss America Organization is one of the nation’s leading achievement programs and the world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local affiliates made available more than $45 million in scholarship assistance. For more information, visit www.missamerica.org.
About TLC
TLC’s innovative docu-series and reality-based programming include favorites Jon & Kate Plus 8, Little People, Big World, What Not to Wear, 18 Kids and Counting, Say Yes to the Dress, and LA Ink. TLC added to its menu of programming with Cake Boss and Ultimate Cake Off, and continues to expand into the food genre. TLC’s daytime lineup includes the Emmy Award-winning A Baby Story. The channel is available in more than 98 million homes in the US, nearly 8 million homes in Canada and through the website at www.tlc.com. TLC is part of Discovery Communications ( DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world’s number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries.
SOURCE Miss America Organization
RELATED LINKS
http://www.missamerica.org
AN award presentation ceremony was held recently at the Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong, for recipients of overseas scholarships by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The chief guest at the function was the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Haji Awang Mohd Mahdi bin Pehin Orang Kaya DiGadong Seri Diraja Dato Laila Utama .
PARAMARIBO (SURINAME), Jan 31 (NNN-CMC) — The inaugural Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Summit on Youth Development opened here on Friday night with a very poor attendance by regional leaders.
The two-day summit is being attended by host President Ronald Venetiaan, CARICOM Chairman and Dominica?s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and Guyana?s President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Dean of the CARICOM Youth Ambassador Corps, Alexis Monelle, chided the lack of participation by leaders of the 15-member CARICOM grouping, noting that they were not present to receive the report that the Caribbean leaders themselves had mandated young people of the region to prepare.
The Caribbean leaders at the summit in 2006 had mandated the CARICOM Commission on Youth Development (CCYD) to conduct a ?full scale analysis of the challenges and opportunities for youth in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and to make recommendations on how best to empower them and improve their well-being.?
The CCYD has compiled a report entitled “Eye on the Future: Invest in YOUTH NOW for the Community Tomorrow?, It will form the basis for discussions here on Saturday, the final day of the two-day summit.
Reading from a prepared speech, Monelle, said young people throughout the Caribbean were expressing their ?profound disappointment? at the lack of participation by the Caribbean leaders.
She said the disappointment is ?assuaged only by the well-known and demonstrated commitment of those heads in attendance and our expectation that they will continue their well known advocacy and support for and with youth, for they understand too well: no investment in youth, no regional integration ? no regional integration, no CSME.
?We hope that the absence of the majority of Heads of Government does not signal the low priority given to youth development,? she said, as youth delegates stood for nearly 10 minutes to demonstrate their disappointment at the non-appearance of the leaders.
Monelle however, challenged her peers to play their role in ensuring that the region?s youth become part of the decision making process now, rather than later, a sentiment shared by the CARICOM Chairman.
The Dominica Prime Minister urged the young people not to let miniscule issues derail the process of their involvement at the highest levels and called on them to concentrate on the findings of the report and to work together with regional leaders in developing a clear path for youth involvement and development in the Caribbean.
Skerrit made reference to the monumental efforts put into the development of a youth agenda by President Venetiaan, who holds responsibility for youth on the CARICOM quasi cabinet.
Skerrit said he believes the final document which will come out of the summit should rightly be named the ?Venetiaan Initiative on Youth?.
CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington said the report was a ?true labour of love,? describing it as watershed document in the CARICOM?s 37-year history.
He said that the findings and recommendations ?may turn out to have provided the only sure path through which the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) may eventually come to fruition.?
In making a case for greater youth involvement within the life of the Community, the CARICOM Secretary-General said the young people will be the beneficiaries not only of the CSME, but also of the integration arrangements;.
He challenged young people that they should ?not just to look for the benefits that might accrue from the opportunities within the CSME,? but also to use their energy, creativity and skill to help in the building of the kind of Community in which they want to live.
President Venetiaan, while declaring the conference open, empathised with the youth for their stance but endorsed Prime Minister Skerrit?s challenge for all to look beyond distractions and on the task at hand.
Speaking to reporters after the opening ceremony, President Jagdeo said that many of the leaders were unable to be present and that their representatives were empowered to address the issues at the conference.
He said he was confident about the outcome of the summit noting that many of the issues to be discussed while complex interwoven.
?How do you separate the growth in education expenditure from youth empowerment?? Jagdeo asked, noting ?sometimes when we tend to find one sentence solutions to complex interwoven problems, we tend not to get the complexity of the issues raised.?
The CCYD report examines critical issues including education, migration, health and well-being, crime and violence, youth dreams and aspirations, youth un-employment and employability, governance, politics and participation, all of which have implications for the continued development of the CSME that allows for the free movement of goods, services, labour and skills across the region.
A special feature of the report is the comprehensive investigation into the situation of Haitian youth, the findings of which become even more poignant and pertinent in the face of further tragedy and displacement.
The major findings have prompted the Commission to call for ? among other things ? greater investment in youth and for young people to be accepted as equal partners in the decision-making and problem-solving processes of the region. — NNN-CMC
CAIRO, Jan 31 (NNN-KUNA): The Egyptian Foreign Ministry is making preparations with Angolan authorities to provide its fans with entry permits to their anticipated final of the Africa Cup of Nations against Ghana on Sunday.
The Egyptian national football team heads into the final of the African Cup in the Angolan capital Luanda after casting the Algerians aside in a 4-0 intense encounter, and is set to face Ghana who beat Nigeria in the other semi-final.
The ministry will look into security procedures taken by Angolan authorities in respect to their fans, it said in a statement, noting that no clashes have occurred during the presence of the Egyptians in Angola.
A deal has been reached with Egypt Air to offer extra flights for Egyptians to Luanda if necessary, the statement concluded.
-NNN-KUNA
THE Minister of Health, Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, paid a visit to the vaccination centre at the Indoor Stadium yesterday. The purpose ofhis visit was to closer inspect the operation of administrating the H1N1 vaccine to Government servants and members of the public to ensure all .
CARACAS, Jan 31 (NNN-ABN) — President Hugo Chavez said that Venezuela will reach soon the fourth place in the world on natural gas reserves.
The statement was made during the graduation ceremony of the first promotion of Natural Gas Engineers of the Universidad Nacional Experimental Rafael Maria Baralt (UNERMB) in Zulia state, Venezuela’s northwest.
The ceremony took place at the auditorium of the Venezuelan state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (Pdvsa) in Zulia.
The event was attended by the Minister of People’s Power for University Education Luis Acuña; the Vice President of Exploration and Production of Pdvsa Eulogio Pino; President of Pdvsa Gas Ricardo Coronado; and the Rector of the UNERMB Dionisio Brito.
The Head of State presented the Cum Laude distinction to Getty Pulgar and will grant the students a labor insertion certificate to join the Venezuelan oil industry.
This first promotion of Natural Gas Engineers is characterized by a profile based on a solid theoretical-practical education on hydrocarbons’ basic science, professional training on production and natural gas service companies, as well as communitarian sensitivity, through socio-economic projects executed jointly with the communities.
This Natural Gas Engineers are part of a Pdvsa-Gas skills-improvement project, they participated designing projects such as the new Western Cryogenic Center (CCO, Spanish abbreviation), have a solid ethic education and the commitment to defend the interest of the oil and natural gas industry in Venezuela.
The Natural Gas Engineer degree is unique in its kind in Latin America and it was approved by the University council of Venezuela (CNU). This degree is also supported by the oil and energy companies of Zulia. The Syllabus is in accordance with the policies of the Economic and Social Development Plan of the State and it contemplates a length of 10 semesters. — NNN-ABN
ISLAMABAD, Jan 31 (NNN-KUNA): More than fifteen people including security personnel were killed and over twenty others were wounded in a suicide blast on Saturday in a Pakistani tribal agency, close to Afghan border, said officials.
A suicide bomber exploded himself at a security checkpost in main bazaar of Khar district in Bajaur tribal agency, security officials told KUNA.
They said the bomber exploded himself when the deployed security personnel stopped him for checking.
Sources said that at least nine people were killed including two security personnel. They added that several wounded have been rushed to nearby hospitals.
However, tribal sources and local Express news channel put the death toll to more than fifteen. They said over twenty others were wounded, adding that at least five of them are in critical condition.
The bazaar was immediately closed and the security forces cordoned off the area, said sources.
-NNN-KUNA
