Annual Report of the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago 2012-2013 Annual Report 2012-2013 | Page 44

Sixth Form Forum during the past year a series of seminars, two of which were held during the 2012-2013 period and which were attended by both field reporters and editors. The Judiciary’s recent reintroduction of its Sixth Form Forum was implemented as a platform for sensitising students to the significance of the Judiciary of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago as the third arm of the state. The Forum served as an awareness building mechanism through active engagement with the Secondary School students, and paved the way for expanding the project to include visits by Judiciary teams to the schools to further the objectives of the programme. The intended outcomes centred on increasing students‘ knowledge of the role of Judges, the Department of Court Administration and of the Judiciary in general. Students were hosted from schools along the east west corridor and the south central districts in the exercises that were organised during the period under review. Schools participating in the reintroduced sessions included: Upper Level Educational Institute of Chaguanas, Holy Faith Convent, Couva, Cowen Hamilton Secondary, Moruga, ASJA Girls’ College, Chaguanas, Waterloo Secondary School, Carapachaima, Fyzabad Anglican Secondary, South East Port of Spain Secondary, Sixth Form Government Secondary, Lakshmi Girls’ Hindu College, St Augustine Secondary, El Dorado West Secondary, Holy Cross College, Arima and Toco Composite. The format of the sessions, while including presentations on the role and operations of various arms of the Judiciary, also facilitated interactions between students and the presenters including the Chief Justice, Judges and Magistrates. To enhance understanding among the students the Judiciary also engaged the services of the UWI based theatre group Arts in Action who utilised drama to further illustrate the issues discussed. 42 Reshaping the Judiciary Identity A student of El Dorado West Secondary poses a question to the panel at the Second Sixth Form Forum Engaging the Media The Judiciary continues to regard the media as a vital stakeholder through which the wider citizenry could be informed about and have a better understanding of the Court and its processes. This presupposes the need for greater understanding among media practitioners themselves about the Judicial system. Accordingly, in