In an award ceremony at the CTO Conference in Grand Bahama Island, Klara Glowczewska, Editor in
Chief of Condé Nast Traveler, has announced that nine-year-old Joseph Archibald-Bowers
of British Virgin Islands was the winner of the the Condé Nast Traveler “My
Caribbean” Essay Contest. Glowczewska also announced the two runners-up: Jasherel
Wielzen of Suriname and Joshua Tuson of Grenada.  This contest, now in its 14th
year, is the first of its kind for Caribbean school children, and has become a
symbol of Condé Nast Traveler’s commitment to the development of the Caribbean.

Grand prize winner Archibald-Bowers received a $2,000 scholarship and the two
runners-up each received a $500 scholarship.  Archibald-Bowers’ winning essay will
also be featured in the January 2007 issue of Condé Nast Traveler.

Given the topic: “Imagine that you are a travel journalist and you have been
assigned to write a story about your country for Condé Nast Traveler.  Remember that
our editorial mission is Truth in Travel, and we like to go beneath the surface to
show people more than just the usual tourist spots,” Archibald-Bowers wrote:

“We shall begin with a hotspot for food.  Midtown Restaurant in the middle of Road
Town is the best place for a juicy hamburger with everything on it with a big plate
of French fries.  I know you’ve had hamburgers where you’ve come from, but I’m
telling you, Gloria, the owner, has a secret ingredient that gives her hamburgers a
Tortolan twist.  You can enjoy your hamburgers with a refreshing drink of tamarind,
soursop, guava, or passion fruit juice, all freshly made local drinks.”

This annual contest is part of a tourism awareness program for school children
between the ages of 8 and 12.  Each of the 26 finalists attending the Caribbean
Tourism Conference will receive an eye-opening experience into the world of tourism.
The contest, sponsored by Condé Nast Traveler, the Caribbean Tourism Organization,
American Airlines, Pelican Bay Hotel, UNEXSO Grand Bahama, and the Grand Bahama
ISLAND magazine, educates elementary school children in the Caribbean about the
importance of tourism to their country.  Grade school children of the 32 CTO member
countries were asked to submit a 250 word essay on the topic referenced above. 

This year’s 26 finalists in alphabetical order by country are:

Anguilla, Vince Webster
Aruba, Belinda Ho
The Bahamas, Shanté Swan  
Barbados, Ashley Harris
Belize, Vivian Courtenay
Bermuda, Sarah Hopkin
British Virgin Islands, Joseph Archibald-Bowers
Cayman Islands, Ashley Amador
Dominica, Jawole Mandisa Joseph
Dominican Republic, Virginia Nϖez Mir
Grenada, Joshua Tuson
Guyana, Sidonia Peters
Haiti, Christina Melodie Beauboeuf
Jamaica, Renee Duhaney
Martinique, Daphne Xavier Maximin-Anne
Montserrat, Tiffannie Skerritt
Nevis, Austine Liburd
St. Eustatius, Reinalda Fleming
St. Kitts, Renicia McDonald
St. Lucia, Nadege Boriel
St. Maarten, Alexandria Stanford
St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Yahtibah Speedwell
Suriname, Jasherel Wielzen
Trinidad & Tobago, Kyle Ramdeo
Turks & Caicos, Crivanne Adams
U.S. Virgin Islands, Tequan Cruse
——-