by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN)—The 2026 Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Creative Youth Competition successfully concluded in late April, with this year’s focus centred on poetry and spoken word.
Students wrote and performed on one of three themes: Voices of a Changing Caribbean, Becoming Me – Exploring Identity, Growth, and Self-Discovery, or Through My Own Eyes.
In the 16-20 age group, Jermorie Isaac of the Clarecne Fitzroy Bryant College in St. Kitts and Nevis took first place, presenting on the topic ‘Through My Own Eyes’.
Jermorie IsaacIn a recent episode of ECCB Connect, Isaac spoke about his journey through the competition.
“The manager for the student services department at the CFPC, she came to me and she was like the ECCB is hosting a poetry competition and I heard that you you write poems and I think that you should join and I was like you know what let me let me give it a shot and when I found out I was actually on my way to town on a bus and she called me and she was like congratulations and I’m like congratulations for what and then that’s when it clicked to me I was I win so it was really elating and I was super proud of myself because you know as the saying says hard work does truly pay off. The topic that resonated with me is, through my own eyes as a teenager growing up in this economy due to social media, I’ve seen some of the issues that persons around my age are facing around the world. I, too, faced some of these issues, and I took it as an opportunity to express how this how it makes me feel or how I view them.”
He continued, “Initially I wrote a piece and I wasn’t too happy with the outcome so I edited it and I tweaked some words not necessarily changing the meaning of the poem but edifying the language and I went to the SGA president at the CFPC the student government president and I he I told him that I entered the competition and you know he gave me some pointers and some tips on how to fully produce the poem. Initially for the video production I wanted it to be on a rooftop to show the world as the topic that I would be writing on is through my own eyes but I ended up doing it as a mountain back piece with the sky and whatnot to to show that this is how I am viewing the world and I don’t want to be too basic so I asked one of the dancers from the archaeology group at the CFPC to basically dramatise what I was portraying in the poem through dance and I think that really brought it all together. I even changed the colour of the the production from colour to black and white to also bring out the effect of sadness if you understand. So yes, that was basically my journey in creating this piece.”
He expressed gratitude to those who made his piece for the presentation a reality.
“Well firstly I want to thank God because without him nothing is possible. I want to thank my mom because she was one of my inspirations she’s also a poet so I got I got that talent from her. I want to thank the student services manager Mrs Clytie Gilbert since she was the one that introduced the competition to me. I want to thank Vickel Edwards-Douglas because he was my mentor in this whole process and Randy Nisbett for the dance that helped to edify the piece. Without them I don’t think that this would have been possible so I’m really really grateful for them. Well my bit of advice is whenever you feel as though there are things that are preventing you from finishing or obstacles that are obstructing push forward and don’t give up because hardware really does pay off.”
Second and third place in that age group were taken by Christi Williams from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Karissa Halliday of St. Lucia, respectively.
In the 12-15 age group, Dainea Lubin of St. Lucia took first place, with Rachael Roberts of Grenada coming in second and Prakruti Rastogi of St. Kitts and Nevis coming in third.
Head judges Naomi Patrick-Smith of St. Lucia and Keira Barnwell Bailey of St. Vincent and the Grenadines shared their thoughts on the competition.
“Imagery I would say stood out most for me because you saw quite a few poems with amazing imagery. Students did not stick to or use the you know overused metaphors and similes they created some very interesting imagery and so that for me was very impressive. Also the videography in most of the students performances it brought their poetry to life it took them off the page it took those poems off the page and they became experiences and so I would say these were the most fantastic parts of this journey for me judging this competition this year. Just seeing how the students used the language I think it was absolutely amazing.” – Naomi Patrick-Smith.
“Let me begin by saying you can tell that a lot of creativity and expressions went into these poems. I must say with a submission of 100 plus young people very commendable in relation to their language in relation to the use of originality in relation to their creativity on a whole. A lot of contestants wrote with a lot of imagery the originality to their pieces a lot of creativity and one of the best parts for me were seeing their video when they presented their video you got to see how they actually connected to their piece actually connected to their original work which for me was a hit which for me I enjoyed not only as a judge but as a reader especially reading over 100 plus pieces that are different that are original that helps them to connect with their piece and it also allows me as a Caribbean person to understand what is being read and enjoy the creativity coming from these participants.” – Keira Barnwell Bailey.
Barnwell Bailey explained the rubric the judges used to assess the pieces.
“So within marking we looked at originality, we looked at creativity, the use of language and very importantly we ensured that participants wrote in relation to the theme that were given to them and if I must commend a lot of participants did write in relation to the theme it’s very commendable. In addition I worked along with an excellent team of judges so it was easy in that part we were able to sit communicate effectively fine-tune especially in areas of creativity and the use of language we were able to fine-tune there and that is how we came to our final decision and our winner.”
The competition drew 168 entries from across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU).
It required students to submit an original poem with a maximum line count of 40 and a three-minute video of themselves reciting their piece.
The ECCB awarded a total of EC$26,000 in cash prizes, tokens, and trophies, which were distributed among the winning students, their mentor teachers, and their schools/colleges.
