National Joint Action Committee, NJAC

Emancipation Competition Profile

The National Youth Action Committee annually host the Emancipation Calypso Competition. This year it was held on Saturday 29th August, 2009, at the SWWTU Hall, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.
This competition has provided a much needed forum, to allow for the continuous production of compositions which highlight the wide range of issues related to emancipation and the historical experiences of our people.
This competition continues to give the young artistes of the country an excellent opportunity to explore the varied dimensions and issues that relate to the Emancipation as a world phenomenon. Our artistes are therefore able to exercise their true role as messengers of the people by offering a diverse number of perspectives and opinions on the topic of Emancipation. It also provides a welcome opportunity for our youth in particular to be exposed to a range of positive messages coming from our artistes and our artform. This can only serve to uplift their levels of consciousness.
The NACC and NYAC appreciate the significant role that this programme continues to play in this effort of the development of our youth and the upliftment of the consciousness of our people. We believe that both the artform and the wider society stand to benefit greatly from programmes such as this. This has been evident by the number of very high quality compositions that have emerged out of previous years and which has served to provide the society by and large, with relevant information on the subject of Emancipation and the historical development of our people.
Over the past four years of the competition, NACC have seen an increase in the number of young people composing very thought provoking calypsoes, as they become more exposed to new perspectives on Emancipation. This therefore is an opportunity to further channel the creativity of our youth towards focusing on this most significant historical phenomenon.
The competition will cater for two age groups - five (5) to fifteen (15) years and fifteen (15) to thirty (30) years.