Green Screen connects with students for career talks

The Green Screen Environmental Film Festival hosted its annual festival event for schools, Green Career Talks, giving students the opportunity to hear from and engage career leaders as well as view films.

Inspired by the theme, Connect, the Green Screen's School Screenings and Green Career Talks took place at Queen’s Hall, St Ann's on January 22-23. Connect is a deep dive into the intricate and vital relationships that bind people to the planet and each other in their communities, a media release said.

Students heard from Dareem Jeffrey, CEO of EcoWash and Lawrence Arjoon, CEO of the Heroes Foundation.

Jeffrey, 28, who is from Moruga, runs EcoWash, a water conservation car wash, which washes a vehicle using only two litres of water, the release said.

EcoWash’s business approach involves reducing water wastage while providing youth with a positive opportunity for employment. During his talk, Jeffrey urged students to “count the costs" of achieving their ambitions.

“You’re looking for distinctions? Count the cost. You know that you’re going to have to put in those hours. Even with business. As you look to start your own green businesses,” Jeffrey said on January 22.

In his address on January 23, Arjoon told the students, “Sustainability means leaving the world better than we found it so that the next generation can thrive and surpass all the other generations that have gone before. It's about disrupting the status quo and going above and beyond to change the unsustainable behaviours and actions that have created the problems.”

In a Q&A session following their presentations students also engaged both speakers on their personal and career journeys.

The event also featured a series of short films inspired by the Connect theme, including films from finalists in the 2024 edition of the Very Short Shorts Mobile Film Competition, presented by Green Screen.

Also featured were Agriman Agventures, a locally-produced animated film series created by WHYFarm; Lanmé – a short documentary about sea moss production in St Lucia during covid; and Belonging – a short documentary which depicts how a US-based student programme brings urban students to a wilderness camp to learn about environmental justice, equity, access and inclusion in nature and outdoor spaces