ONE of Guyana’s distinguished youth Ambassador Dr Astell Collins continues to inspire his generation with exceptional service to the development of his nation.

Since his return from South Africa in December 2012, he has become relentless in his pursuit to do all he can from where he was with what he had.

To date he has facilitated in excess of 250 leadership seminars throughout the various regions in Guyana.

Interestingly these leadership seminars were conducted across the various sectors including all ages, all religious/denominational divisions and also to the supporters of the political divide.

Additionally, since the transition of his mentor Dr Myles Munroe, Astell has committed to conducting 60 seminars in honour of his legacy. Dr Collins was also invited to the U.S. in March to represent Guyana in Charlotte, North Carolina at a special service in honour of Dr Munroe and here he was honoured by receiving the ‘International Champion of His Community Award’.

This son of the soil has successfully raised our nation’s flag wherever and whenever he travels overseas. He has become an inspiration to countless youth throughout Guyana, the Caribbean, Africa and the USA. However, the trait that distinguishes him is his insatiable desire to serve his nation in spite of the demand for him internationally.

Even as invitations poured in for him to facilitate his BD1 (Better Defined One) Leadership seminars abroad, Dr Collins suspended his international obligations to serve his nation after the elections date was announced. He believed that he had a duty to prepare the youth especially the undecided and first time voters to fully comprehend the responsibilities of their civic duty.

Likewise, he made it clear that he is only interested in serving all Guyanese and refused to be reduced to an instrument of division. To this end, he was able to persuade and inspire those he engaged with.

As a result of his reach, scope and influence not only in Guyana but also abroad, Dr Collins was the recipient of the prestigious ‘Golden Rule International Award’ and was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the Golden Rule.

This appointment he said will be used to foster and disseminate a culture of honour in our nation with special focus on the youth. “They are our best and brightest hope,” he exclaimed.

In addition to empowering the youth in the various schools across this nation, Astell used his partnership with the Ministry of Education to empower teachers as well.

To facilitate and accommodate the scope of his leadership seminars which included the youth, teachers, religious organisations and government institutions, he initiated the BD1 National Leadership Revolution.

This was done to also advance his vision that leadership doesn’t need to be reformed but rather revolutionised. Astell believes that there exists a crisis in consciousness and that our individual and collective identity were eroded which has left us exposed to negative influences and our sense of value degenerated.

Thus with a lowered self-esteem our population, primarily the youth are engaged in self-limiting activities that create a perpetual state of hopelessness.

Therefore, in acknowledgement of his service and influence home and abroad Astell Collins was recognised by the United Graduate College and Seminary International with an Honorary Degree of ‘Doctorate of Philosophy in Society and Human Rights’.

Furthermore, in recognition of his accumulative wisdom and insights, Dr Collins was also appointed as the Advisor for the office of Ambassador Clyde Rivers, who is the Ambassador at Large for the Republic of Burundi. He communicated his desire to use this appointment in Guyana’s best interest.

Additionally, he believes that there exist a number of opportunities for us to expose Guyana’s tourism product and also for the youth of our nations to engage in various developmental initiatives.

As CEO of (Better Defined One) BD1 Leadership with a wealth of experience in leadership development, Dr Collins remains committed to making his contribution to developing the citizens of his nation.

His ideas may seem radical but he believes that the youth remain Guyana’s most under-utilised natural resource which needs to be nurtured and exposed. Although he is a highly sought after keynote speaker in conferences, seminars and workshops for Government institutions, religious organisations, universities, schools, etc., both nationally and internationally, Guyana remains his priority.

Dr Astell Collins has taken a number of persons on a journey of self-discovery to self-mastery helping them to identify with the concept of UBUNTU (a Zulu philosophy which is the spirit of humanity, i.e., I am because we are). It is taught to catalyse and promote the importance of national unity among our citizens.
As a result, he is respected as a human development strategist who is socially engineering a paradigm shift in consciousness. What’s more, is that this former Medical Technologist (Clinical Pathology specialist) is regarded by many as a global leader among the youth that is affecting change, giving hope and transforming lives.
His passion is to inspire the youth to embrace the idea that there is a destiny that made them necessary.