Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2022 revels in cultural ambassador role
Velonique Bowen’s national project to target unattached youth
Published:Thursday | May 11, 2023 | 12:31 AMKeisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer
Velonique Bowen has a passion for Jamaican culture. Though small in stature, she definitely exudes a high level of confidence that has propelled her to becoming not just the winner of the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition in 2022, but a strong and deliberate young woman.
Since taking the crown at the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition, Bowen has displayed not only charisma and charm, but a deep-rooted and innate drive to improve the lives of her fellow Jamaicans, especially young people.
Bowen recently launched her national project, the Youth Opportunities and Accessibility Programme, at the Hope Botanical Gardens in St Andrew. The project is geared towards providing unattached youth with skills and training that they need to become more productive citizens. Bowen describes the launch of the project as one of her most profound moments since her ascension to the Festival Queen title.
“This project is something that I have really been passionate about for some time, even before I entered the pageant. In fact, that was one of the reasons why I entered the pageant in the first place – to be given a platform to really launch and execute this project,” Bowen said.
The year, she said, has been even more special for her as her mother, who resides overseas, was able to see her make this dream a reality. “It was an extremely amazing moment for me. I was able to launch this project in the presence of my mother, who does not live in Jamaica. But she decided that she had to be there. It was her first time really seeing me in action since I became Miss Jamaica Festival Queen,” Bowen said.
She indicated that participating in Jamaica’s Diamond Jubilee Year celebrations has also been one of the highlights of her journey. “For me, I used to sit and look over at the Festival Queen, look at the minister, and the delegates and the cultural ambassadors. But to be able to also be in that seat in Jamaica’s Diamond Jubilee Year, our 60th year of Independence, it really was fulfilling. I tell people all the time that I am a nationalist, and there are very few things that I love more than my country, and being able to serve, being able to represent the land of my birth; it is really a big deal for me,” Bowen said.
Bowen was also elated to participate in Reggae Month activities in February of this year. “I am very intuitive, and very knowledgeable about the history of music and the different genres. So, to be able to see the great musicians that have contributed so much to our music culture, and seeing them ‘front stage’, seeing them perform, engaging, interacting with them, it was pretty profound for me,” she said.
A past student of the St Andrew High School for Girls, Bowen has completed her bachelor’s in journalism at The University of the West Indies, with a minor in cultural studies. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in cultural studies, with an aim to pursue a doctorate.
Bowen, also an ardent public speaker, says the opportunities she has received to share on different platforms and topics publicly, has also been a highlight of her reign.
“I like to be given opportunities where I am able to flex my muscle, and I have really been given my fair share of opportunities as it relates to that. I have spoken to members of the senior citizen group on Senior Citizens Day, I have spoken to children and teachers, and the list goes on,” she said.
Initially a bit apprehensive in entering the competition, she describes her overall journey as being diverse and wholesome, even awe-inspiring, as she has been on a runway representing her country. “I have had the opportunity to really network, to meet people, to build and boost my own personal image, but also to be an advocate for my country and for my culture. Even before I was crowned, I would have said, with everything in me I will always advocate for the retention of our culture,” Bowen said.
As a cultural ambassador, she said she has been able to speak from a place of knowledge, as well as learning how to further contribute towards national development. Bowen, who copped three of the five sectional prizes in the competition – Most Culturally Aware, Social Media Popularity, and Most Aware – said her experience has been a rewarding one.
“I have been able to give back, I have been able to learn, and I have been able to contribute; and I will be further contributing, through my project, on national development,” Bowen said.