Past Queen’s Royal College intercol captain Ian Jeffers is the founder and coordinator of Rites of Passage: Boys to Men which will stage The BTM Journey on Saturday at the Government Plaza, Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain.
Said Jeffers: “The programme has been in existence for the past 11 years with the support of the Massy Foundation. This year, we are putting on a programme which we call The Journey, which is actually a talent extravaganza for participants and leaders of the BTM programme.
“This talent showcase is along the same lines of a larger convention which we called The Recall which we held for past graduates of the programme. The Recall was held at the Queens Royal College Hall and selected classrooms in 2013. Over 300 young men attended that event.”
Jeffers continued: “The programme is designed to engage young men in conversations about taking responsibility for their lives through self development, family development and community engagement.
“In essence it is a community based leadership development and empowerment programme for young men between the ages of 14 and 21.”
Past guest speakers at the BTM Movement have included Massy CEO Gewrvase Warner, Massy Automotive director Stephen Christopher, Industrial Court judge Gregory Rousseau and Daniel James, an activist in the Laventille community.
The leadership team of the BTM Movement, which comprises past programme graduates, has discovered through the work done in communities and the ten-week programmes conducted throughout T&T, that there is a need for exposure for the many talented young men with creative potential and this is what Saturday’s talent extravaganza is designed to highlight.
Asked to be more specific, Jeffers said: “As an example, Thaddeus Jardine (Thaddy Boom) is a one of the programme leaders and a past participant from the Never Dirty Morvant Community, who has grown to be one of the leading poets and spoken word artistes in the country. He has competed in many national competitions including the FCB-sponsored Poetry Slam and is also one of the founding members of the Two Cents Movement. Thaddy Boom is the principal writer and director of The Journey.”
The BTM Movement has captured the imagination of many a youth and Jeffers explained: “Referebnces come from teachers and principals, community groups, church leaders, parents and employees of the Massy Group.
“To ensure that meetings can be properly managed and that the group can receive adequate attention, groups typically do no exceed 30 in number.”
Jeffers added: “This year we decided to give the wider cadre of talented young men the opportunity to exhibit those creative talents thus Saturday’s talent showcase at the Government Plaza. I truly hope the wider public will come out and support these young men at it embodies the journey of a young man through the Boys to Men experience, which enables them to emerge as leaders and develop others as leaders. It exemplifies and manifests the principle of ‘Each One, Teach One’.
“We’ve also reached a point in the journey where we need to collaborate widely to build the momentum of Boys to Men and enable a wider sharing of the programme’s principles to meet the needs of young men across T&T.”
Saturday’s showcase is scheduled to begin at 7 pm.
IAN JEFFERS BIO:
Ian Jeffers is the principal consultant of H.I. Jeffers & Associates Organisational & Personal Development Process Consultants
• Former Educator with Toronto Board of Education
• Former School Social Worker & Special Advisor to Director Of Education in School Community Relations, Toronto
• Member, Consultative Committee on The Education of Black Children in Toronto schools
• Member, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
• Principal Consultant/Facilitator in development of self-esteem curriculum in schools in Trinidad & Tobago
• Facilitator for several organisational Interventions in the areas of Change Management, Team Building, Interpersonal Relationships and Strategic Planning.