Project Components
In 2022, The JB Fernandes Memorial Trust and the Bocas Lit Fest (BLF) launched Trinidad and Tobago’s first academic and self-empowerment youth initiative centered around Language and Literature. This groundbreaking programme introduces youth to the transformative power of reading, writing, storytelling, and journaling, fostering both academic growth and personal development.
Programme Highlights
Diverse Learning Opportunities:
- Social Media and Zoom Classes: Students engage with interactive content and participate in virtual learning sessions.
- In-School Sessions: Live performances held in schools across the country provide direct encouragement and guidance to students.
- Comprehensive Academic Curriculum: The program focuses on helping students address their unique challenges, express their personal experiences through writing, and improve their academic performance in English Language and Literature.
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Achievements in 2022
- Campaign Series: A series of four videos featuring spoken word poets encouraged young people to read more, write better, and find their voice. The series received over 3,000 views.
- Creative Writing Masterclasses: 40 students participated in online masterclasses to enhance their creative writing skills.
- CXC Lessons: 80 students enrolled in online classes to prepare for their CXC exams.
- We Lit School Tour: The initiative reached 2,300 students across 10 schools in Trinidad and Tobago, inspiring and empowering them through literature.
Milestones in 2023
- Student Chapbook Publication: “On the Day I Was Born” featured writings from 14 new student authors. [Read here]
- Language and Literature Lessons: Over 100 students received lessons from our dedicated teacher, Mrs. Charlene Joseph-Holmes. Students who took their exams in 2023 reported excellent performance ranging from distinctions to grade 2 and expressed gratitude for the sponsored lessons.
This initiative continues to make a significant impact by providing quality education and fostering a love for language and literature among Trinidad and Tobago’s youth.
Join the 2024/2025 cohort for online English A, English B, Communication Studies and Caribbean Studies classes for Forms 5 and 6. Register your interest now for our online classes September 2024 to May 2025 here.
From September 2024, secondary school students will enjoy theatrical performances incorporating spoken word poetry and drama in the third edition of the We Lit School Tour. We Lit will continue to secondary schools across Trinidad and Tobago in this academic year.
Over the last two years, 60 students attended workshops to learn how to write fiction, non-fiction and poetry with author Lisa Allen-Agostini and poet Derron Sandy. Registration for our We Lit creative writing workshops 3rd Edition open September to December 2024. The third cohort of young writers will have an opportunity to refine their writing together in online sessions and publish their work in a new anthology in 2025.
Forty-two young writers from 25 schools wrote and edited pieces across various genres, addressing youth issues. The best submissions from August to December 2023 were published in April 2024 as the second We Lit youth publication, “The Travelling Journal.” The collection will be available for download in September 2024.Â
Students can pre-register for the creative writing sessions September-December 2024 for the opportunity to be a part of the online workshop series.
#welit2024 #thepowerofliterature #readwriteshare #youthoutreach #bocas2024.
