Government turns to youtube to promote Cayman
(CNS): Government will be using Youtube to promote the Cayman Islands with the help of two young Caymanians. Luigi Moxam and Kamala Murugesu have been selected as the hosts for the Department of Tourism's You Tube video series promoting the destination around the world. The project is one element of DoT's drive to enhance awareness of the Cayman Islands through the use of social media and video. Following a nationwide talent search to find young local hosts to be the "Faces of Cayman" the DoT chose Moxam and Murugesu after viewing a number of video auditions over the two-week campaign.
Filming began on 9 May and has included some of the Islands' most iconic locations and attractions, as well as highlighting the people and culture. The video series will be launched in July on the Cayman Islands You Tube Channel.
"I am absolutely ecstatic that I've been chosen as one of the first hosts to represent my country in this video series," exclaimed Murugesu, when she received the news that she had been selected. "I look forward to this opportunity to showcase all the wonderful things that the Cayman Islands have to offer and can only hope that I serve the role as ambassador with true patriotism."
Moxam echoed his co-hosts sentiments and said that the show was a brilliant way to market the Cayman Islands brand globally. “We should all be encouraged to know that they have put together a dedicated team, who are willing to showcase and highlight all that is inspiring about our beloved isles by utilizing the influential means of creative social media. I'm proudly passionate about representing everything Cayman and cannot wait to get started," he added.
Members of the local community can follow the DoT on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook to keep track of new developments with this exciting project.
www.Facebook.com/caymanislands<http://www.Facebook.com/caymanislands> and www.Twitter.com/cayman_islands<http://www.Twitter.com/cayman_islands>
Category: Tourism
As a fellow young Caymanian, I wish Kamala and Luigi all the best on their project. I know them both and feel they will do an excellent job.
The nicest way to show your Caymanian hertiage to the world is through friendliness and not your accent.
It is about TIME that the DoT woke up and got with 'the program'.
So I say, CONGRATULATIONS to whomever for just merely seeing what others are doing and taking advantage of a resource that was just under your noses!!!
WOW, this is begging to be refreshing!
Positively, IRON CLAD
Great initiative but please ensure that Luigi is given speech lessons. Unfortunately, he equates speaking "Caymanian" with speaking ignorantly. He's a great guy with admirable drive but listening to him speak makes me cringe. You can sound Caymanian without sounding uneducated. So, please find the right balance, Luigi. All the best.
Yessss….and no. I agree he's got a truly thick accent – but for the purposes of something like this you really want the "Caymanian" feel to come out – as long as it's understandable. Would you say the same if this were a Jamaican series, filmed in Jamaica with Jamaican accents? Doubtful. That is the spirit of the culture. Luigi was chosen – maybe entirely for his way of speaking.
Now, that said, I agree that sometimes it's grinding to hear the massacre of the English language when the grammar is shredded, syntax is abused and basic fundamentals of language are tossed aside. That is the fault of the education system, the parents and / or those of us who can speak well but do not offer enough correction to those who cannot.
Fortunately, these series were scripted so I suspect we will see the best of Luigi – Caymanian accent with a little help from copywriters.
I, for one, am thrilled that this has been put together and will link it to my website as soon as they're posted.
This is our culture, for better or for worse, we should embrace what makes us…us…and find a happy medium between educating our people and maintaining our identity as a Caribbean nation with a spicy dialect.
Cha maaaan!
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for showcasing the Caymanian accent. I'm just saying that for this purpose, which will be seen by a broad audience, it should be ensured that any listener can understand what is being said. This CAN be achieved by speaking with a Caymanian accent.
Unfortunately, often the terms accent and dialect are used interchangeably when, in fact, they are two different things. An accent is appropriate in just about every situation; dialect is usually reserved for less formal settings when the audience is mostly homogenous or through some form of artistic expression. In this instance, I would support a proud Caymanian accent being used dominantly, with little sprinklings of dialect to give it flavour. If the dialect is overpowering, however, listeners/viewers might be turned off because they find it hard to understand what is being said.
In respect of your comment regarding Jamaican presenters, I would expect no different from them, and quite frankly, they have the right balance of accent:dialect when promoting their tourism product. If the entire production was done in the Jamaican patios (dialect), a la Bounty Killa-speak, most listeners would not understand it.
I trust I have better clarified the initial point I was making of finding the right balance.
Great idea. Let's just make sure that we market Cayman as it is and will stay. It wouldn't be a nice surprise for the tourists to arrive and find cruise berths in the harbor, a seaport on East End and God knows what other future " developments " that are not in the videos.
Congratulations to Vanessa Polack for creating and heading up this project. We are very proud of your ingenuity and know that anything you are a part of will be successful.
It's good to see the government taking steps to become more social. Thru this medium they can get their message out without it being filtered or taken out of context by the media.
LMAO why dont they put up Mckeeva Bush Around the world in 680 days now thats a classic bobo. Show the whole world how our premier do things.
The sinking of the "kittiwake" are great videos, getting ratings in the thousands. Log on to youtube.com and see what I mean