EVE BURNS
The long awaited Miss Marshall Islands pageant has finally taken its first step. Last week Thursday, the Office of Commerce, Investment and Tourism (OCIT) held a signing ceremony for the contestants at Marshall Islands Resort’s Melele Room with a great number of witnesses and supporters on hand. The contract they signed stated that they would lead by examples.
The Miss Marshall Islands Pageant will officially start on January 23 with the coronation scheduled for February 3, 2023.
Miss Marshall Islands program is in partnership with OCIT, Ministry of Natural Resources and Commerce, Natural Energy Office and Kora In Okrane (KIO) Club. The National Training Council is helping by supporting an internship program. OCIT recognized NTA for supporting the program by live streaming the event.
Yoland Zedkeia, who welcomed the young ladies, delivered welcoming remarks.
Minister of Natural Resources and Commerce John Silk was not present to deliver his remarks but OCIT Chief Executive Officer Carlos Domnick read it out for everyone.
The Miss Marshall Islands program stands providing “opportunities to become leaders in the future,” said Silk’s message. He said the program is “For our people to showcase our islands, to give skills regarding understanding the importance of our culture and language and respect our way of life, open their eyes to learn about our issues that are affecting lives today, give knowledge and understanding that our voice is important, to be brave and speak up when there are things that are not right, and gain experiences working at their local governments to better understand the live on the islands they represent.”
MNRC provided One Island One Product funding to each contestant to prepare and promote food and products from the islands they represent. This is one of the highlights of the pageant.
The government thanked the private sector for taking part together with other ministries, and OCIT.
“We at KIO Club, in partnership with OCIT, believe we are building future leaders and you Miss Marshall Islands contestants, you are future women leaders,” KIO Club President Angeline Heine-Reimers. “It’s not an easy job as all of you are volunteers.”