New franchise holder for Miss World T&T

Beyond beauty

Bavina Sookdeo

Monday, June 4, 2018

“It is our responsibility (collectively) to support what is ours and we must continue to be proud as a nation regardless of colour, creed and race.

We must stand together strong.” These were the words of Brian Gopaul in an interview with the Trinidad Guardian.

Gopaul is the new franchise holder of Miss World T&T (MWTT). He added that the pageant is a great opportunity and it is the country’s responsibility to ensure great representation on the international stage.

Who exactly is Brian Gopaul and why did he decide to bid for the franchise?

Gopaul, who studied Agriculture at ECIAF (Eastern Caribbean Institute of Agriculture and Forestry) was always a very creative child. He was extremely good at taking control of things and transforming it. As he grew older the boy became interested in pageantry and the age of 16, he held his first pageant ‘Miss Gasparillo Composite’ at the Gasparillo Composite School.

As he grew, so too did his passion for all things related to beauty and transformation. Thus, he ventured into Events Planning and Decorating eventually becoming one of the best in his field. Together with his business partner Reiaz Mohammed, he set up his business—Elite Planners Limited.

Almost 20 years later, Gopaul finally got the opportunity he always seemed to miss. “Past delegates of the MWTT pageant notified me that the franchise was available since they thought I would be ideal for the role. They were pushing me to bid. I did some research and spoke to well known people in the field and I decided to send in my application.”

Being awarded the franchise was no easy task for Gopaul. “The members of the MWTT Organisation was very particular since they wanted to ensure the franchise is well represented,” he explained. After the organisation checked the credibility of both Gopaul and Mohammed (who is now the codirector of MWTT), they were awarded the franchise.

So what does Gopaul hope to do with the franchise and what is his role and vision? To this question he answered:

“I want to ensure that our country is well represented on a national level and to ensure that the selection process is fair and that we are proud as country.”

Gopaul added that he hopes to restore the faith in the population in pageantry. “Somewhere along the line, we have lost faith. I think there is a breakdown in society and we need to attend to it. Sometimes all it takes is just one hand.”

The theme of the MWTT pageant is Beauty with a Purpose and Gopaul intends to use this platform to fulfil that purpose.

“We want to use this platform to raise awareness. It is not just for young women but we can use these women to share positive influence on children.

We are going to educate, improve and uplift the spirit of young people across the board. Additionally, we will use this platform for national building and as a national drive. We need national pride and we need to engage the public so everyone can realise their role in taking T&T out there.”

The franchise holder insisted that MWTT is the platform to promote tourism stating that it has the largest viewership across the board.

Gopaul has a lot of hope that these things will be accomplished since he has complete faith in his dynamic team which consists of well known professionals.

This pageant is more than beauty,” he said. “The training the girls will receive is second to none. It is more than just make-up. We want to ensure that these girls are well-equipped in things like International Affairs, Art, History and Culture, Protocol, Health and well-being, Social Media Education, Etiquette and Networking and so much more.”

The new franchise holder has high hopes for this competition and he admits that the support has been overwhelming. “People are looking forward to change” he said.

To the young women of Trinidad and Tobago Gopaul sent out this message: “Follow your dream. Every dream beings with a dreamer and always be the best you can possibly be. We always have personal work to do on ourselves.

It does not end with a pageant.”

Gopaul also requested the help of everyone including the Government and ministries.

He said, “MWTT has an ambassadorial role in representing T&T and at the end of the day it is all about representing the country and putting country first.”

The casting call for MWTT took place last weekend at the Cascadia Hotel and Conference Centre. The ten successful candidates selected will be presented to the media soon.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2018-06-04/beyond-beauty