CARICOM USES ANIMATION TO HELP IN FIGHT AGAINST YOUTH CRIME AND VIOLENCE

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Twenty Trinidadian youngsters learned how animation principles can be used to create animated stories about their life and how they perceive their future.
Squash and stretch, anticipation and staging were among twelve basic principles of animation explained to the young participants at the Youth Training Centre (YTC) in Trinidad and Tobago during a one-day workshop on Friday 25 October, staged under the CARICOM Programme on Crime and Violence Prevention.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Deputy Programme Manager, Culture at the CARICOM Secretariat, Riane de Haas-Bledoeg encouraged the participants to make full use of the training to empower themselves.
She said animation and digital media were among the new technologies they could use to tell interesting and creative stories about themselves, their community, their culture and the world in a fun way.
She also entreated them to make the best use of the opportunity. “I urge you to make sure that when you leave this afternoon with your certificate, you have learned as much as possible from the lecturer and experts here today, who will guide you in this wonderful and exciting world of animation” she said.
This workshop, which has taken place prior to the Animae Caribe Animation and Digital Media Festival in Trinidad and Tobago falls under the CARICOM Programme on Crime and Violence Prevention and is supported by USAID, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Animae Caribe, and National Library and Information System (NALIS) of Trinidad and Tobago.
Animation and creativity are among the tools used by the Programme to address crime and violence as well as safeguard cultural heritage. Continued efforts are being made to introduce this approach in other CARICOM countries. Recently, a CARICOM Citizen Security Project was approved for funding by the Government of Spain. This project will focus on the reduction of ‘Youth on Youth’ violence in selected schools and communities in CARICOM Member State