National “Youth Week” ended with a grand show at NAPA last Saturday evening as scores of youngsters, parents, guardians and mentors gathered for the Youth on Stage finals. Cheers and applause echoed inside the Lord Kitchener auditorium of the National Academy for the Performing Arts on that evening, as the MYDNS Youth on Stage talent search crowned its $150,000 grand prize winner, 22-year-old Sangre Grande singer, Aaliyah Campbell. Campbell’s passionate performances resonated with the judges throughout the national long talent showcase and earned her the top prize amongst the ten finalists, who all attested to “being winners due to the invaluable experience and knowledge gained, in addition to relationships cultivated by the Youth on Stage initiative”.
Visibly exhausted Youth Development Coordinator, Ndale Young expressed great pride in the culmination of the project, which his team conceptualized and executed last Saturday, following an eventful and event-filled “Youth Week” week of activities and interactive sessions with young persons around the country. “Im so happy for all the participants and congrats to the winner, Aaliyah,” said Young backstage after the event. “It was a really intense week for us at MYDNS, but we managed to survive by the grace of God and we successfully fulfilled our mission to connect with the young people of T&T and to provide them with peaceful, positive and productive opportunities and avenues to express themselves and to exp.