THE Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is looking forward to working with the new government towards the protection of vulnerable groups in society.A three-day public advocacy training for vulnerable Guyanese communities commenced on Wednesday at the Regency Hotel in Hadfield Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown. The programme is a collaboration between the European Union to Guyana and SASOD.
Project Coordinator John Quelch opened the ceremony, highlighting the objectives of the project and the intended outcomes that will benefit the work and advocacy of civil society organisations representing marginalised communities.
Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman who was listed to speak at the event was absent but his prepared remarks were read on his behalf by Co-Chair of SASOD, Joel Simpson.
According to Trotman, the ‘Guyanese vulnerable communities capacities strengthening project’, funded by the European Union, recognises the importance of the seminar.
“An active, vibrant, well informed populace is critical to ensuring that their interests are addressed by the leaders and civil society’s advocacy is a vehicle through which this goal can be achieved,” Trotman noted.
Advocacy should not be seen as trampling on the rights of others in an effort to achieve new goals, the Governance Minister said, and this must be exercised with the intention of building relationships and strengthening democracy.
“Civil society organisations that actively work with the most vulnerable are best positioned to inform and guide the process towards the creation of public policies that are inclusive and effective,” he stressed. “The Government of Guyana is one for all people in this land and embraces active, respectful engagement with representatives of civil society in the creation of policies and their implementation.”
He said the development of Guyana depends largely on the ability of its diverse groups to collaborate and make decisions to move the country forward. “As such, I call on each of you participating in this capacity- building exercise to envision over the next three days how you can positively influence and impact the creation of a better Guyana, a more informed and cohesive Guyana.”
Public Policy Commonwealth Research Consultant, Gordon Floyd, said the three-day programme is to provide an intensive and focused introduction into the principal practices of effective public policy advocacy for members of the Guyana Equality Forum.
“The agenda we have put together for these three days grow out of the work of stakeholders’ consultation which took place last April…it will be a busy agenda we will be pursuing for the next few days,” the consultant emphasised.
Head of bilateral cooperation, delegation of the European Union to Guyana, Benedikt Madl said SASOD has been one of the Union’s long standing partners in civil society in Guyana.
As such, Madl congratulated SASOD for the initiative in their approach with decision and policy-makers in Guyana. He said the idea of the training is to provide participants with principles and practices of effective public policy in consultation with policy-makers locally.
The EU representative explained that civil society performed a vital role in bridging the gap between the general populace and policy-makers. He applauded the move by SASOD to host the seminar under the Guyana Equality Forum which fights to rid the country of the scourge of child abuse, domestic violence, discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and all forms of human rights abuses.
“I really feel it’s crucial for this forum to combine human rights issues in Guyana and I would really want to promote this further, because I think civil society needs to be more united,” he declared.

By Rabindra Rooplall