Outstanding students from Chetwood Memorial Primary School in St. James dominated the essay component of the 2021 Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Heritage Competition, with students placing first, second and third. They also copped three of the six category certificate awards in the essay component. The star student who edged out her competitors to win the essay competition, 11-year-old Okaejah Stephens,...

Kemar Cummings, a Jamaican writer and poet living in Australia, continues to participate in and contribute to the literary works of his homeland. He recently won three medals in the 2021 Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Creative Writing Competition. At the virtual awards ceremony held on November 20, Mr. Cummings received gold medals for his poems Brother and Negro Aroused....

Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2021, Dr. Dominique Reid, has launched a project in Manchester, designed to enhance oral health care and hygiene among youngsters and, in the process, preserve their smiles. The initiative, titled: ‘Project Healthy Smiles Jamaica’, will target approximately 590 children, aged six to 12, and is being rolled out in the parish which she represented in the...

Jamaicans locally and in the diaspora can enjoy vibrant and comedic re-enactments of the island’s culture through rising social media personality, Juliet “Julie Mango” Bodley. For almost a year, the 39-year-old has gained attention from posting short videos on the social media apps, Instagram and Tik Tok, creating skits of different habits, social patterns and cultural aspects of a ‘true...

As Jamaicans celebrate the country’s 59th anniversary of Independence this year, we reflect on the work and legacy of the late Hugh Nash, whose contribution to Jamaica’s Festival movement and overall cultural development has left an indelible mark on the country’s history and heritage. Fondly called Mr. Festival, Mr. Nash pioneered the festival of activities we now enjoy every year...

Deputy Director of the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), Nicole Patrick-Shaw, describes the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund’s donation of $27.5 million to bolster the organisation’s work, as “game-changing!” She tells JIS News that the provision, which was presented to the IOJ in January, was utilised to fund several of the organisation’s projects. These included roof repairs to...

The Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) is transforming downtown Kingston into a cultural district, dubbed a Kulture Key, which will highlight the country’s iconic musical heritage while creating a space for recreation. Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor Delroy Williams, tells JIS News that the Kulture Key combines leisure and learning, through the mounting of murals along various sections...

Internationally renowned scientist, Dr. Arnaldo Ventura, has added poet to his long list of distinguished accomplishments authoring his latest work ‘Memories and Musings: Reflections of a Scientist’. The collection of 26 poems is a homage to the country of his birth, which he portrays as a nurturing paradise, with sleeping hills and valleys, shimmering seas and clear skies, and wondrous...

Entries for the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) performing arts competitions can now be submitted online. The JCDC, with support from the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund, recently developed a digital platform that will facilitate the uploading of entries and videos via the Commission’s website - www.jcdc.gov.jm. Acting Executive Director, Marjorie Leyden-Kirton, tells JIS that the Commission...