THE American University of Peace Studies turned out 55 more graduates on Wednesday, at a ceremony in the Pegasus Hotel, Kingston, also in Georgetown. The Best Graduating Student was Mr. Balogun Oba Mwanza, a priest of the Ile Ifa Ayetore Church at Melanie Damishana on East Coast Demerara, who was accorded the recognition amidst the gathering of stakeholders from both the private and public sectors.
University President, Dr. Eton Simon, said those in the graduating batch are internationally competent, a quality which will assist Guyana as it continues to evolve as an international player.
“These students are very sharp and Guyana needs people who understand things from an international perspective. The university is blazing a new trail in disseminating life skills,” he told the Guyana Chronicle, in an interview after the function.
Simon said, with support from stakeholders, the university has been able to engage youths at different levels.
“Knowledge supersedes barriers and goes to the core of understanding and human potential,” he remarked.
“Our contributors are mainly from the United States, so the economic setback was a challenge for us,” Simon explained.
He indicated that the only major challenge for the University, this year, was the global economic crisis but he maintained that the institution has had some successes, among which was the establishment of the Guyana Psychological Association and the Counselling Department.
Simon also announced that the University has established the Research Department to address social issues and, right now, studies are ongoing.
The University, in collaboration with the International Research Institute of Development (IRID), has commenced an official researching programme to gather information on conflicts in various communities and suggest strategies to address them, he disclosed.
Simon said the University will also utilise its youth group to implement an information gathering mechanism on how youths are responding to the ideas of peaceful intervention as a means of resolving conflicts.
He admitted that the University is a fairly new concept and introduces a new level of understanding while looking to work closer with Government agencies and schools, among other entities, to target youths.
Points of Light
“We have the ‘1,000 Points of Light’ which is a scholarship programme for young people between the ages of 12 and 19 years old. It is a two-week course being offered across the country, free of cost, with the focus on conflict and psychology,” Simon offered.
He said it is a step forward towards ensuring the development of minds that will be able to play on the international scene and represent this country.
The University has been operational for seven years and is located at Lot 135 Sheriff Street, Campbellville, in the city, too.
Presently, it has between 200 and 250 students on roll and the programmes available spawn Environmental Diplomacy, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Emotional Intelligence Leadership, HIV/AIDS Counselling and Testing, Human Resource Development and Peace, International Leadership, Human Resource Management, Metaphysics, Moral Education and Counselling, Professional Counselling, Psychology, Public Communication and Strategic Project Management.
It is affiliated to other institutions around the world, primary among which is the International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP) and is accredited by the Global University of Peace in California, United States, with full legal right to award the diplomas and degrees it offers under the provisions of the California Educational Code, Simon said.