At opening of ‘CASC 2010’…
THE saying that ‘Youths are the Leaders of Tomorrow’ was further reinforced yesterday as the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the Caribbean Award Sub-regional Council (CASC) and the President’s Youth Award, Republic of Guyana (PYARG) scheme was officially declared open ‘CASC 2010’.

The award programme, which will run from July 30 to August 15 and see participation by local and foreign contingents, is being held under the theme:‘Experience the Nature Kingdom’.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony said in his address that it was indeed a pleasure for Guyana to be hosting the event once again, since it has a lot to offer by way of the vastness of its natural beauty, its rich history dating back to the arrival of its First Peoples, the diversity of its culture and last but certainly not least the hospitability of its people.

Said he: “This event aims to show the world what the country has to offer, such as its diversity, attractions, positive development and the lifestyle of Guyanese. I urge that as you visit places of Guyana for the next 16 days, you get to understand a little more about the country’s flora and fauna.”

With reference to Guyana’s advocacy on the environmental front, particularly when it comes to its Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), Minister Anthony said: “If we do not do something to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases that are released in the air, we can end up in a very catastrophic situation, and many of the experts are saying that it is not long off…The floods and hurricanes are becoming more frequent.”

On that note, he urged participants to pay keen attention to the climate change debate, as the outcomes can affect everyone, regardless of country. He made the point that while some countries may not have to deal with the thorny issue of standing forests and compensation, they still had to cope with issues pertaining to sea level rise.

Minister Anthony emphasised that Guyana is a country of rich cultural diversity; citing the successful hosting of CARIFESTA in 2008.
Stating the need for history to be preserved and learnt the Culture Minister told the Awardees of the five dictionaries (Amerindian languages) that were recently added to the country’s history.

“It is unique to this part of the world…when people think about Guyana and they think about language, they say English but we have more than English. So here it is that you can have the opportunity when you go into the hinterland to encounter persons who speak their native language,” he said.

The issue of HIV/AIDS and the importance of education were also brought to the fore as Minister Anthony challenged the participants to further educate young people about the disease.

“Many of the young people that have passed through this award have gone on to become leaders in society. There is much this award has offered to Guyana and I am sure it has been doing similar things elsewhere,” he added.

As it relates to education, the Minister stressed that many young men have been dropping out of school over the years, which is of concern to his Ministry and urged the participants to take up the opportunity to become peer educators.

“They are many challenges that we as a region face and if we talk about youth violence we have seen that to be a trend in many of our societies but all this is not about talking about negative things, but it is here and it is reality…but what we can do is think about how we can change it.”

The participants who were drawn from several Caribbean countries, the British Virgin Island, Cayman Islands and Canada, will have the opportunity to sample some of the country’s un-spoilt beauty and visit many waterfalls, including Kaieteur.

Permanent Secretary, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Alfred King said that the event which was hosted by Guyana in 1999 is seen as a programme of choice from young people.

The commencement of the programme saw 23 leaders and 123 registered persons in attendance and according to King to date there are 7000 young people participating and approximately 500 trained volunteers; who are expediting their duties in nine of the ten Administrative regions.

Chairman of CASC, John Williams who was also in attendance told the participants to make full use of the opportunity. He also urged them to lead by example and to adopt a spirit of team work. (GINA)