MOVE ON GUYANA, a new national youth movement seeking to ensure youth parity in governance, has already been consulting with hundreds of youths across Guyana regarding policies to empower the youth population.

While all of the legal work has already been done to formalise the organisation, an official launching ceremony is expected to be held within a matter of days.

In keeping with its mission, the movement is seeking to inspire and mobilise youths in Guyana to participate in the country’s governance and development. For one thing, it will be looking to educate youths about the “power and invincibility of the vote” and to ensure that each eligible youth voter is registered.

The movement has said that it will also be seeking to design and operationalize an unprecedented ‘Get Out The Vote Operation’ (GOTV) for the next elections and work at ensuring that qualified, talented young people are permanently integrated into every sphere of leadership in society.

With 54 percent of Guyana’s population being below the age of 40 and the median age being 26, the movement said it has been observed that generations of young people are absent from the nation’s governance. “MOVE ON GUYANA intends to change this reality by ensuring youth parity in governance of our society. We have consulted with hundreds of young people all across Guyana about policies to empower the youth population and move Guyana forward,” a statement from the movement has said.

MOVE ON GUYANA promises to advocate for better opportunities for young people in business and private enterprises, and to facilitate education, empowerment and leadership training. “We will promote and facilitate youth representation at levels of national decision making in government and the private sector and we will advocate for our youth to comprise at least 40 percent political candidates for all elections, on municipal, neighborhood and regional councils, as well as parliament and cabinet.”

The movement plans on conducting a national campaign to create awareness about the devastating effects of carbon footprints in the environment and human-generated climate change, all in its efforts to help promote a green economy.

MOVE ON GUYANA will be advocating for the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana and for the implementation of criminal justice diversion programs for youth offenders who are eligible for rehabilitation.

The movement will also be pushing for the abolition of tuition fees and for the restoration of free education from nursery to university, as provided for in the Constitution. “Cancel all outstanding student loans for persons who studied at the University of Guyana, introduce a permanent scholarship program for our youth to pursue master and doctoral degrees in disciplines that are essential for our emerging modern economy, and enable the University of Guyana to offer said degrees and advocate for UG campuses to be established at Bartica, Lethem and linden.”

The body wants a new law to be enacted to allow for persons 18 years and older to purchase and acquire land and for a national income threshold for persons 18 and over to be established.

Furthermore, MOVE ON GUYANA wants an independent Ministry for youth and sport to be established and for a community college system in Guyana to also be established to allow high school graduates who do not qualify for entry to the University of Guyana to earn a two-year associate degree.

The body said it will be convening various public forums throughout Guyana to engage the youth population and will work steadfastly with its national leaders.

The organization’s board of directors are: President, Vishal Joseph, medical student/Caricom youth ambassador; First Vice President, Dineshwar Jaiprashad UG lecturer/Pandit; Vice Chairman/Director of Health Policy Initiatives, Dr. John Anderson, Physician; Vice President/Director of Communications, Mary Adams, public relations consultant; Vice President/director of business development, Rosco Jeffry; Secretary, Christopher Johnson, UG lecturer/businessman; Treasurer, Godfrey Bess, Financial Analyst; Assistant Treasurer/Director of Fundraising & Finance, Varune Mahadeo, business

executive; Assistant Secretary, Eon Bollers, City councilor/entrepreneur; Director of Special Events & Social Affairs, Saiku Andrews, recording artiste/gospel singer; Director of Digital Campaign, Aggre Marsh, ICT specialist; Director of Education & Public Policy, Joseph Singh, economist; Director of Women’s Affairs & Social Transformation, Dr. Adriele Downer-Austin, Physician; Director of Strategic Planning & Political Affairs, Akeem Peter, City Councilor/Entrepreneur; Director of Agriculture & Environmental Policy, Dillon Husbands, Manager UG Research Center/Purdue University PhD Candidate; Director of International Affairs, Dr. Randy Domer, Veterinarian, and Director, Dr. Onica Higgins, physician.
The mission statement is “Integrating Our Youth Into Our Nation’s Governance And Development Agenda” while the motto is, “Our Youth, Our Nation, Our future.”

The organization’s model includes chapters in all municipalities, regions and the diaspora. A MOVE ON GUYANA chapter will be launched in New York City on March 24, 2019 while the date of the Guyana launch will be announced subsequently.