The Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation's 2010 conference entitled "Building Character Through Youth, Sport and Recreation," kicked off at the Southampton Princess yesterday.

The Department has partnered with the Josephson Institute, a non-profit organisation that promotes proper ethics in society to hold the conference which will focus on the six pillars of character; Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.

Conference topics include Building Community Partnerships, Building Character in a Faith Based Setting, Character Building Strategies, Teaching Sportsmanship, Curriculum Integration, and Character Building Activities.

The conference began at 6.30 p.m. on Thursday February 4 and will continue to be held at the same time through Saturday February 6.

Acting Minister of The Environment and Sports, Zane DeSilva opened the event before a presentation was given by Kay Augustine, a national consultant in character education.