ST Thomas Technical High School’s Kiara Beckford took the top prize in RISE Life Management Spotlight Jingle competition, which focused on addressing harmful social norms and gender stereotypes that help drive gender-based violence.

The competition was conducted from August to September 2021 among high school students islandwide in grades seven, eight and nine, and received more than 200 entries.

After a rigorous judging process, which included an external judges’ panel and public voting via social media, the first-, second-, and third-place winners were selected and the presentations made last Wednesday at Rise Life’s office on East Street, downtown Kingston.

Markisha Bryan of Edwin Allen High placed second, while Nickyle Prendergast of Calabar High placed third.

Seven consolation prizes of $5,000 each were paid to the top 10 finalists.

The competition formed part of the two-year European Union-funded and United Nations-implemented Spotlight programme to eliminate family violence, with a focus on violence against women and girls.

Rise Life Management Services has been mandated to implement the gender-based violence prevention, pillar-three component of the programme in schools as part of the wider Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica.

Under Spotlight, Rise Life Management has developed a series of school-based interventions that engage students, teachers and the wider school community in life skills education and sensitisation and which promote positive gender norms.

The winning jingle will be played on social media as well as on select Jamaican radio stations. It will also be used by Rise to increase the reach of gender-based violence information across the island.