Bocas brings the youth perspective to the forefront in a series of events from 11 to 17 November 2017. In our ongoing secondary school spoken word tour we encourage students to SPEAK OUT on issues that affect them, and now we’re bringing their ideas to the world through a week of performance, readings, workshops and film.
Saturday 11 November
Youth Journalist Workshop, with Sunity Maharaj
10am -12noon, The Lloyd Best Institute, Tunapuna
A workshop in interviewing techniques for the aspiring media leaders of tomorrow. For ages 12 to 19. Contact 319-4749 to register.
Meet the Authors
4pm – 6pm, Nigel R Khan Bookseller, West Mall
Meet and mingle with authors of remarkable, award-winning young adult books, Dreams Beyond the Shore by Tamika Gibson, Girlcott by Florenz Webbe Maxwell, The Protectors’ Pledge by Danielle Y.C. Mclean and Children of the Spider by Imam Baksh. Free and open to the public. Refreshments served. Read more about CODE’s Burt Award author tour here.
Sunday 12 November
The launch of Raise the Bar: The National Spoken Word Intercol
6pm – 8pm
Government Campus Plaza Auditorium, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain
We officially kick off Raise the Bar: the National Spoken Word Intercol and CODE’s Read with Me social media campaign with an epic night of performance, co-hosted by social media sensation Ro’dey the Entertainer and spoken word artist Derron Sandy.
An exhibition slam featuring intercol alumni and popular spoken word artists will set the tone for the newcomers who’ll be competing in the upcoming rounds of the National Spoken Word Intercol, which sees 25+ secondary school teams vie for the top prize. With a feature performance from Young Chicago Author’s Nate Marshall, and CODE’s Burt Award winning authors to introduce the #readwithme campaign.
Limited seats available for public: RSVP via 319-4749
Monday 13 November
Courts Bocas Speak Out Tour
Our secondary school spoken word tour and the CODE Burt Award author tour continue throughout the week at select schools across Trinidad.
Louder Than A Bomb, film screening and discussion
6pm – 8pm, School of Education Auditorium, UWI St. Augustine Campus
A free screening of the documentary Louder than a Bomb which looks at the largest youth poetry slam in the world. Nate Marshall, the star of the documentary, then youth poetry slam participant and now National Programs Director at Young Chicago Authors will be with us to discuss the film. Screenings are for educators, students, stakeholders and the public. Let’s observe the international context of the work and have conversations about what we can build locally. Limited seats available for public: RSVP via 319-4749
Tuesday 14 November
Poetry Teaching Artist Workshop
(details to come)
Wednesday 15 November
Discussion: Youth and the Economy
(details to come)
U.We Speak
7:30pm – 9:30pm,
UWI Student Activity Centre greens
This is our final U.We Speak for 2017! We will be focusing on the national youth policy in partnership with the Trinidad Youth Council. Performances that are connected to youth issues are welcomed. Open to the public.
US.c Speak – “The bottle trick”
4:30pm – 6:00pm
University of the Southern Caribbean New Building Auditorium
A special edition of US.c Speak that focuses on mental health featuring performances on the theme and a panel discussion with mental health professionals. Open to the public!
Friday 17 November
Discussion: Youth in Culture, on i95.5FM, 3-4pm
(details to come)