Most summer camps are spent learning, developing skills, or even just doing art, but today we encountered a summer camp which focuses on promoting the awareness of major issues – such as global warming. The Belize National Library and Service System hosts a summer camp each year which focuses on various topics affecting our country, and finds ways to help alleviate the problems in any small way. After being taught about global warming, a group of around 70 kids went to the Isaiah Mortar Monument today to plant flowers. We were there to find out why this was so important.
“Anually the Belize National Library Service and Information holds its summer program and this year we are looking at global warming and also fish farming in Belize so this is part of our program. We looked at violence, mostly happening on the southside of Belize and we thought that there could be good things happening on Southside so we also incorporated, because of the topic we do on global warming. What we had taught the children in the lesson about global warming, we taught about the different gases and how trees contribute to giving off oxygen and we breathe in oxygen and we breathe out carbon dioxide that is what the trees take in.”
Eric Chang. City Councillor
“Today we have beautified this median right here. First of all I need to take this opportunity on behalf of the City Council to thank the National Library and Information Service. They are the ones who actually collaborated with the youths who came out and beautified the area and I think we can take this further down the future if everybody could just beautify their lives and their houses and we will have a beautiful city to live in.”
Film Festival Opens Tomorrow
The Belize International Film Festival fell off the radar for three years, but it’s back this year and organizers say it’s stronger
than ever. This year’s festival starts tomorrow and runs for a week. Director Suzette Zayden told us that there’s something in it for everyone.
Suzette Zayden, Director
“What I consider very special about this year’s festival is the fact that we are opening with a Belizean film. It has only taken us four festivals for us to be able to showcase a documentary film that is of an extremely high international standard. In fact we’ve already been getting interests from distributors abroad in looking at this film because it is being screened at the International Film Festival.
A few years back before any festival came into being the biggest complaint of people working in this industry was that I am struggling to make my film and then what happens next, I can’t afford to get it on TV because the TV stations are not buying my film, they are actually charging me to put my film on the air which is the opposite of what it should be. This is not a situation you new to Belize, it is happening in the entire Caribbean but for some reason no matter how much you invest in your film you can’t get it shown so the festival is a forum or an area where you can finally expose your film to the public and as well as to an international audience.
The film festival of course I would like to see continue from now until forever. The film festival is a marketing tool for filmmakers. The festival is not a profit making venture. It is kind of like a industry device in terms of like an engine that will help push the industry.”
The show will feature Belizean films and also huge Hollywood hits, and movies from Central and Southern America. There will be many famous guests attending the opening night red carpet gala that is scheduled for this Friday and will end on July 31st Tickets are available at the Bliss and for more information you can check out their website at.Film Festival.
7NEWS produced for broadcast by News Director Jules Vasquez
Edited and Prepared for the internet by Keith Swift
