THE Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports yesterday launched a ‘travelling exhibition’ at the National Museum. 

Since 2010, the IIC in partnership with Newcastle University, UK, and the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) implemented a project titled ‘Encompass – An International Diamond of Cultural Dissemination, Capacity-building with countries from the North, East, South and West’.
The project is focused on heritage management and preservation in Guyana (North Rupununi), Kenya (and Anglophone Africa), China (Hainan Province) and in the UK (Newcastle).

INDIGENOUS CULTURE
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony in his remarks said that “due to the increasingly fast globalising world and dominant cultural expressions, products and services have become internationalised to the detriment of local cultural diversity. The key purposes of the project were to strengthen local indigenous culture through increasing access to tangible and intangible cultural heritage expressions and products and services in the various selected counties, and to encourage improved management and safeguarding these resources.”

KEY ACTIVITIES
Director, Resource Management and Training, Iwokrama, Dr. Raquel Thomas-Caesar noted some of the key activities supported by this project were exchange visits of heritage and culture experts in 2010-2011 where Guyana was represented by Glendon Allicock (music and culture specialist) who elaborated on his Encompass experiences at the launch; Benita Roberts (Makushi Researcher) and renowned sculptor, Ozzie Hussain. The team visited Newcastle (UK), China and Kenya and in return, teams from those countries visited Guyana.
The research team contributed to a travelling exhibition which was already shown in Kenya. Guyana is the second stop and it then goes to Newcastle and China.
Other activities supported included internal country workshops held in the North Rupununi which was facilitated by Dr. Aron Mazel from Newcastle University, in December 2011.

HERITAGE EDUCATION
From 2012 to 2013, three indigenous Guyanese, Anil Roberts, Sabanto Tokoroho (Grace Roberts) and Guy Marco attended Newcastle University and successfully read for their masters in Heritage Education and Management.
Those present at the launch included representatives from the Ministry of Culture, the Amerindian Research Unit of the University of Guyana, the NRDDB, the ICC, members of the diplomatic corp, and prominent artists.
The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development is an autonomous non-profit institution established by Guyana and the Commonwealth.
Managing the nearly one million acre Iwokrama Forest in Guyana to show how tropical forests can be conserved, the Centre sustainably uses it for ecological, social and economic benefits to local, national and international communities.
The travelling exhibition on ‘Heritage’ will run until December 13 at the Guyana National Museum.