MEDIA | NEWS ARTICLES
Over the last 5 years the Awards programme has generated
considerable media attention. By profiling the Awards programme,
and the individual winning projects, Childnet hopes to
encourage "best practice" and draw attention
to the individual winning projects.
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 The
Jamaica Observer, 06 March 2004
J'can student wins award in international Internet
contest
SHE may have done it only because she had some free time
on her hands. But for Carrie-Ann Gordon, a 17 year-old upper
sixth form student of Immaculate Conception High School,
the pay-off is good.
This week, she created a first for Jamaica, for being named
among the 12 category winners in Cable and Wireless' Childnet
Awards 2004 - an international competition designed to stimulate
and highlight the positive uses young people around the
world are making of the Internet. A total of 250 entries
were received from 40 countries for the competition, now
in its sixth year. Jamaica entered for the first time this
year.
Gordon's website, with the theme 'Youngadults2-youngeradults',
located at http://members.lycos.co.uk/thelinkup/ , topped
the 'New to the Net' category in the competition and earned
her a £2,000 grant from the academy web development
fund, plus a trip to London for training at the Childnet
Academy next month as well as a cellular phone.
"It proves that if you have your mind to something,
the dedication to do it and the love to enjoy it, you can
accomplish more than you ever hoped," Gordon said of
her achievement at an awards ceremony at the Terra Nova
Hotel on Thursday evening.
Her website is a prototype for a website that will provide
a place for teens and young adults to help one another and
will provide young people with the opportunity to discuss
issues and ask questions. She also has plans to develop
a moderated discussion board and to write a monthly newsletter
for members.
The target group is children between the ages of six to
15.
Said Gordon: "I am aware of the risk of a site like
this, children being quite impressionable; but I also believe
that if used wisely, the Internet can be a medium for children
to express themselves and share ideas with the world. that
in itself is a wonderful thing."
Yesterday, nine-year-old Annaleise Aiken of the Liberty
Academy was also recognised for her entry 'Ultimate Fun'.
Her website was aimed at entertaining children around the
world, through games, clubs, inventions, music and art.
For her effort, she received free Internet service for a
year from Cable and Wireless.
Meanwhile, 13-year-old Raoul Mahtani's 'Teen Life: Problems
and Solutions' won him a Nokia Ngage, and an e-learning
course which will teach him the basics of web development
and content management. The Cable and Wireless Jamaica Foundation
will also host his website for a year through the foundation's
website.
Ann-Loy Morgan, 15, of Campion College, won a similar prize
for her website, 'Imagination Nation' - that was created
to provide creative children with an outlet for their art
work.
President of Cable and Wireless Jamaica, Gary Barrow, challenged
other private sector entities to help to bring this type
of technology to the young.
"Government alone can no longer be expected to assume
the full responsibility for issues such as these and we
believe that the private sector must also contribute its
fair share if we are to escape from the concept of Internet
apartheid," he said.
"Together we should aim to make sure, that as far
as access to the information age is concerned, not one Jamaican
child will be left behind," added Barrow.
He was particularly pleased of Gordon's achievements.
Said Barrow: "Since we got the news of the results
of this year's Childnet competition, I have been overcome
with a renewed sense of national pride to have it re-confirmed,
that Jamaicans can compete and match skills, with the best
anywhere in the world, in almost anything."
C&WJ's senior vice-president of legal and regulatory
affairs, Camille Facey, in the meanwhile, urged young Jamaicans
to seize the opportunity in the next round.
"The competition for the 2005 awards kicks off in
May and we would like to have even more entries from Jamaica
than we had this year," she said.
1999 |
2000 | 2001
| 2002 | 2003
| 2004 | 2005 |