THE University of Guyana (UG) School of Education and Humanities, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development (IDB), began a five-day workshop, yesterday, to train trainers in puppetry and dramatic storytelling disciplines derived from oral traditions, myths and legends. Delivering remarks at the beginning, Director of the Office of Resources Mobilisation and Planning at UG, Dr. Marlene Cox said the training will give participants the knowledge and ability to display Guyana’s history and culture in a new and creative way.
She said the IDB funded course, in the use of puppetry for teaching, targets those who will return to their respective schools and train others.
It is for primary school teachers from Regions 1 to 4 and Cox observed that puppetry presents an opportunity for students to learn in a more interactive and fun way, noting that “learning is best when it is fun.”
She said, while the targeted beneficiaries are primary school students, the benefits of this art form is limitless, since persons of all age enjoy storytelling and puppetry and, therefore, can learn a lot from it.
In addition, Cox said the Learning Channel on television is also involved in the process, parts of which will be televised and, although she may be letting her imagination “run wild”, she alluded to the possibilities of making Guyana’s history, culture and diversity known internationally through a local ‘Sesame Street’ type of puppet show.

CULTURAL GRANT
Meanwhile, Ms. Ava Yarde, a representative of the IDB Cultural Centre, disclosed that the seminar was made possible through a cultural grant of US$5,000 from that agency, which was awarded to UG in 2012 to help fund its project entitled ‘Developing a greater awareness of self expression through art form.’
She explained that the objective is to be achieved through various media and there is need to preserve the intangible cultural heritage of ancestors.
Yarde said, since the establishment of the IDB Cultural Centre in 1992, 15 institutions have benefitted from cultural grants, with the most recent being UG and the African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA).
According to her, the IDB Cultural Centre has a long history of promoting culture throughout the Caribbean and Latin America by providing financial support for small related projects and, by so doing, promotes restoration and preservation of historical cultural heritage.

BEING NEGLECTED
The current exercise is being facilitated by art lecturer, Mr. Michael Khan, who made a presentation in a very dramatic manner, using variations of creole language, alluding to objects of Guyanese history and culture that are being neglected, including the legends of the ‘Old Higue’, ‘Moon Gazer’ and ‘Baccoo’, among others.
He emphasised the importance of teachers and other educators knowing about those things and being able to teach them in an interesting way, so as to ensure that they are kept alive.
Khan maintained that puppetry could not only be used in storytelling to teach history, etc., but other subjects like Mathematics and Science, as well.
Approximately 40 teachers are participating in the course which will conclude on Friday. It is being conducted in the Art Studio of the Education and Humanities Building at the UG Turkeyen Campus.
The purpose is to develop programmes to enhance the delivery of inclusive education in schools across Guyana and includes learning to design and make puppets and actually use them as a teaching method.