SEVERAL Guyanese played prominent roles at a recent convention of the Global Organisation People of Indian Origin (GOPIO). A couple hundred individuals attended the meet held at ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel in Iselin, Jersey. The Indo-Guyanese joined Indians from other nations to help plan and organise the convention under Mr. Ashok Ramsaran’s guidance.  Several Guyanese also made presentations on various topics impressing the audience with their contributions.
The topic dealing with challenges and empowerment of immigrants of Indian origin included several Guyanese presenters and saw a large turnout as people are interested in matters affecting immigration of their loved ones. Among the presenters were Berbician Ashook Ramsaran,
who was conference programme chair who spoke on issues impacting  people of Indian origin worldwide and Dr Vivian Rambihar (Guyana-Canada Co-Chair of GOPIO Health Council), who spoke on health issues affecting Guyanese and other Indians.
Other Guyanese participants included Berbician Bina Mahair (Guyana-USA Co-Chair of GOPIO Media Council), a journalist, who gave the concluding remarks at the conference session; Satruhan Sukdeo, formerly of GUYSUCO and who is GOPIO Upper New York president who spoke on migration issues; Paul Nehru Tennassee who spoke on migration issues; Jhairam
Persaud who made some remarks on the importance of immigration; Nohar Singh of TravelSpan who gave the vote of thanks concluding the session on migration; Veerapen Naidoo who gave the vote of thanks at the conclusion of the resolutions session; and  Netram Rambudhan who was
appointed treasurer of GOPIO.
Paul Tennassee explained the initiatives being taken by Guyanese and others in Washington DC; initiatives on immigration matters.
There were also several Guyanese in the audience and others who attended the dinner banquet. In interviews, the Guyanese at the seminar and banquet praised the organisers of the convention and the deep involvement of Guyanese in the event that included nationals of other
countries. They were also pleased that a fellow Guyanese was chosen to lead GOPIO for the next two years. They noted that the new GOPIO President Mr. Ramsaran has the skills and ability to bring together and has very good networking with respect to business.
Berbician Joe Ragnauth feels GOPIO needs to continue working on its recruitment of the young to get more of them involved in the organisation’s activities. He also feels more people from the Caribbean need to become more involved in GOPIO. India’s Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Hon Vayalar Ravi felicitated GOPIO for its contribution to the Indian Diaspora Movement, stating that “GOPIO International is playing a vital role in creating awareness and promoting understanding of issues of concern of the Indian Diaspora”. He saluted the election
of Ramsaran as President. A similar message came from Guyana’s Ambassador to the USA, Hon. Bayney Karran who praised GOPIO for its role in embracing Guyanese as well as the important role Guyanese are playing in the organisation.