SCORES of youths across Guyana would be beneficiaries of the Guyana Youth and Social Entrepreneurship Programme (GYSEP) which was implemented here by the Guyanese Youth Ambassadors of 2015.
One Wednesday, six of seven participatory groups pitched their ideas on fostering youth engagement and development at a youth exposition at the Umana Yana, Kingston, Georgetown.
Of the six project ideas pitched, ‘Youth Education Society’, which targets creating well-rounded children, and ‘Math Guru’, which seeks to enhance the mathematical skills of secondary school children, were judged as the better projects ideas.
US Ambassador to Guyana Perry Holloway affirmed that the Embassy will continue to support similar youth development initiatives as it is cognisant of the positive returns of such programmes.
While acknowledging the contributions made by young people through a myriad of groups to create a better future, he said, “The work that you all do on a continuous basis has an innumerable impact on the lives of other”.

Ashraf Dabie, who was in 2015 a youth ambassador and vice-president of the US Embassy’s Youth Action Network (YAN), said the programme was crafted to share the knowledge the 2015 cohort received with other youths, in an attempt to promote the development of youths in Guyana.
“Rather than keeping the programme to only the participants who benefitted from the programme [the GYSEP], we decided to host an exposition to involve more youth,” Dabie said.

The main objective of the day’s event, as related by Dabie, was to underscore the positive work that youths have already done and are able to do.
The youth ambassadors also joined with the YAN and other stakeholders to host an exposition and volunteer fair.
The GYSEP was the fourth project implemented by the ambassadors after they returned from their three- week exchange programme in the USA, in 2015.
During the programme, seven youth groups, consisting of three to five members benefitted from four days of training in the areas of civic engagement, leadership, team work and entrepreneurship.
The Youth Ambassadors Programme is supported by the US Embassy in Guyana and targets the development of youths.
Selected youths participate in a three-week cultural and leadership exchange in the US and as a follow-up, are tasked with implementing developmental programmes in Guyana when they return.

This year, six more youth ambassadors, along with one adult mentor will depart Guyana on August 6 for their three-week exchange in the US.