THE Ministry of Social Cohesion is set to kick off its 2017 campaign with the opening today of Harmony Village on Main Street in down-town Georgetown.
Celebrated under the theme, “Beauty in Diversity, Celebration Guyana,” the day-long event, which gets underway at 09:30hrs and runs until 18:00hrs, will feature some 30 booths from religious, cultural and international organisations, as well as those in the private and public sectors.
Among government entities involved, besides the host, are the Ministries of Culture, Youth and Sports; Indigenous Affairs; Natural Resources; Education; and Health.
From the international community, the event will see the involvement of the Venezuelan, Mexican and Cuban Embassies, the Chinese Association, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The event will see a display of local and international cuisine, cultural wear, dance, poetry, folklore, as well as artifacts and literature.
Speaking at a press briefing yesterday, Ministry of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton, noted that the event will be all about celebrating and bringing into focus Guyana’s culture and diversity.
As such, he encouraged Guyanese of all walks of life to come out in their numbers and support a worthwhile cause.
“This Village creates an opportunity for inclusion and preparation of a myriad of diverse groups working towards a common goal of displaying and celebrating Guyana’s beauty and diversity,” Dr Norton said, adding:
“It is our hope that Guyanese will turn out in their numbers, and that from this activity, they are able to have a better appreciation for the beauty in the diversity of our country and its people.
“We would hope that this will improve year after year, and persons would start looking forward to it. We hope that it catches on, and that it would go for more days.”
JUST THE BEGINNING
Programme Coordinator, Ms Sharon Patterson, said ‘Harmony Village’ is just the beginning of what the Ministry of Social Cohesion hopes will blossom into an event that could be taken to other regions across Guyana.
As such, she said, the ministry will be paying keen attention to the feedback they get from this outing.
“It’s really a pilot! We want to see how this will roll out; we want to see the reaction of those who are involved; those who are coming out!” Patterson said, adding:
“We want to determine after this what are the successes, and what lessons we have learnt so that in the future, we can make the necessary adjustments and add or subtract parts as needed.”
The event will also see the unveiling of a floating gallery, which will involve the branding of a section of the Main Street avenue with images of persons with varying background.
As Minister Norton observed, for too long when reference is made to the six races of Guyana, there is usually a picture of just one person representing each of those races, so the objective of the floating gallery is to put more faces to each race.
“These images will remain for an extended period of time, in order to allow passers-by to observe and connect with the evolution of our society,” Dr Norton said.
“It is easy for us to see how important it is for us to recognize ourselves as one people,” he added.
Asked about the inclusion of the opposition in the initiative, Minister Norton said they’re never left out of the equation, but are in the habit of refusing to be a part of such events. He, however, said that that is not to say that the ministry has given up on the opposition altogether, as they will continue to reach out to them in the hope of such events being truly inclusive.