A debating competition geared at enhancing children’s oral skills is a feature of this year’s “I PLEDGE” initiative, launched Wednesday by Western Union.

Started in 2004 by GraceKennedy Money Services through its Western Union brand, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the programme — I Promise to Lend Encouragement to Develop Growth in Education — is intended to encourage primary school students to read more and improve their computer literacy skills.

“Any way that we can find a way to reach out to invest in our young people in Jamaica and elsewhere in the world, we are delighted to do so,” said chairman and chief executive officer of GraceKennedy Limited Douglas Orane, in his welcome address at Wednesday’s launch at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston.

He also endorsed the debating competition and predicted that it would not only help to develop the children’s English-writing skills, but also enable them to better articulate their thoughts and emotions, while finding better ways to resolve conflict.

“I know that by encouraging our young people to articulate better (and) resolve conflict verbally rather than through physical violence, we are going to make Jamaica a better place and the debate competition is going to be a catalyst in moving us in that direction,” Orane said.

Dr Rebecca Tortella, senior advisor in the Ministry of Education, lauded Western Union for its commitment to helping to educate the nation’s children.

“The partnership between GraceKennedy Money Services, Western Union, the school and the non-government organisations it supports is an alliance that yields benefit on all sides, and it does benefit our country,” she said, speaking on behalf of the education minister, Andrew Holness.

Tortella also reiterated the ministry’s goal to increase literacy in primary schools by 2015 and emphasised that focus must be placed on ensuring that children acquire the grade-appropriate level of readiness at each level of the education system and not just at the Grade Six Achievement Test level.

The I PLEDGE programme will include the Western Union National Reading Week, which will be observed from April 26 to April 30 under the theme, “Today readers, tomorrow leaders”. The week will attract the participation of Prime Minister Bruce Golding, private sector leaders, and entertainers, among others, who will donate books and/or read to students in schools islandwide.

The Western Union National Primary Schools English and the Western Union School Debate competitions will also form a part of activities being conducted under the initiative this year. The winning school will be repainted by Western Union and Rapid True Value.

Also included as part of the initiative are school community projects which involve the establishment of learning centres equipped with computers and printers. Last year 13 centres were established with over 200 computers and printers, at a cost of $11 million.

Noel Greenland, vice-president of market and product development told Career & Education that the company will spend an estimated $13 million to establish 10 learning centres this year.