THE Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, in collaboration with Cuso International, commemorated International Volunteer Day last Thursday at the Guyana National Service (GNS) Sports Complex on Carifesta Avenue, under the theme: “Youth Globally Active.” 

The volunteerism support platform, under the auspices of the ministry, celebrated youth volunteers in global peace and sustainable development. Young people who act as agents of change in their communities were appreciated.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, in remarks at the event, explained the reason for collaborating with Cuso International to commemorate International Volunteer Day as a way to further the good work of the volunteerism platform and mobilise more volunteers in Guyana.
He noted “within the ministry, there is the volunteerism support platform used to coordinate the work of volunteers in Guyana. Hence we thought that celebrating International Volunteer Day presented the perfect opportunity to highlight volunteerism and its benefits, as well as to mobilise more volunteers for the future”.
The minister also highlighted one of the benefits of volunteerism, saying, it is “something that perhaps makes us human, for those who don’t volunteer there is always something lacking; for those of us who get to give back and volunteer, we find that it is a very gratifying experience”.
Additionally, the Cuso International country representative for Guyana, Taramattie Persaud, stressed the importance of volunteerism to the advancement of a developing country. She said, “The evidence shown by the state of the world volunteerism report illustrated countries with high levels of volunteerism are more economically and socially viable and better placed in the global system”.
Hence, emphasis should be placed on volunteerism in Guyana. She continued, “In Guyana, we have seen that youths are active agents for change in many sectors, for instance over the last year we have seen progress with the development of a National Youth Policy”.
Aside from highlighting and celebrating the benefits of volunteerism, a Volunteerism Calendar 2014 was also launched at the commemorative event by the Japan International Cooperation Agency/Caribbean Community Secretariat (JICA/CARICOM) representative, Mr. Taku Yoshida.

While describing the content of the calendar, Yoshida noted that the calendar also presents facts about social issues the volunteers are strenuously trying to solve every day. Some of these include disabilities, population, women’s role in society, health, tourism, biodiversity/global warming, indigenous heritage, migration of the tertiary-educated population, food security, abuse, and of course volunteerism. Along with those tips there are also pictures depicting activities done by the various volunteer groups in Guyana.
The creative team for the calendar included Yoshida, VSP’s Pere DeRoy, Lesley Abraham, Chie Clarke and Tremayne Kewley.

The calendar was created through the partnership of the volunteer support platform, along with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and CARICOM with funding from the United Nations Volunteer Programme.

OTHER MATTERS
Minister Anthony also took the opportunity at the ceremony to highlight several youth-led initiatives that the ministry promotes, such as the President’s Youth Award, youth camps and the ministry’s mentorship programme.
He made the suggestion that volunteerism should be promoted from an early age, suggesting that focus be placed on establishing volunteer school clubs in the new year.
He said, “In any given year, the ministry works with close to 2000 youths. We need to institutionalise volunteerism, perhaps through secondary schools, for instance creating volunteer clubs in each school”.
Minister Anthony added, “We should also create an award ceremony to recognise the work and achievements of those outstanding volunteers. This can also create a forum to exchange best practices”.
Moreover, the minister emphasised the work of volunteers and civil society organisations in numerous sectors, including health, environment and the elderly, highlighting that it was the work of volunteers and civil society organisations that helped to change the tide of HIV in Guyana.
He said, “Today we are able to celebrate that we now have a 1.5% prevalence of people living with HIV & Aids as opposed to around 60% prevalence in the past. We now have an issue with non-communicable diseases; I hope that volunteerism can help with this, having had a good track record with HIV.”
The minister mentioned interpersonal violence, school violence, and domestic violence among other social issues plaguing Guyanese society, not to mention, advancing education, particularly in the subject areas of Mathematics and English.
International Volunteer Day, observed on December 5, was established by the United Nations in 1985 to celebrate and recognise the contributions and achievements of volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations across the world.

In observance of IVD 2013, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon noted that, “Today the world is highlighting the millions of young volunteers around the world who are acting globally for social change”.
He added that there are more than 1.2 billion youth in the world today, with incredible potential to tackle challenges and act as agents of change. “When young people volunteer, the opportunity provides them with valuable life and job skills; it strengthens their capacity to lead and become engaged in their communities and global society,” he said.
The Secretary General also called for a renewal of commitment to offering young people diverse and meaningful volunteer opportunities to become active and confident contributors to global change; particularly since volunteering also impacts their personal lives.