BRITISH Virgin Islands (BVI)-based Guyanese designer, Nadia Thomas-Winter will on Sunday host the first annual Spring Fashion Empowerment Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre from 12:30hrs.

The event, which is being hosted under Thomas-Winter’s newly established Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Empowering to Lead with Confidence (ELC), will be the first of its kind in Guyana.

It will be an all-inclusive event with a tea party setting. The event will also include a panel of international and local speakers, including Guyanese-born, US-based Sebrena Kelly, Global Ambassador, Speaker, TV & Radio Host; Guyanese-born, BVI- based Dacia Daniels-Louie, Stylist; Akola Thompson, Guyanese independent journalist; Ain Earle, Founder of The Fashion Arch in Trinidad and Lifetime Alopecia Awareness Advocate; and Krystal Tomlinson, Author, TV Host and Empowerment Speaker from Jamaica. These empowered leaders will be speaking on the topic “The Creative Spark”.

“Our aim is to promote unity through networking, supporting, upliftment and inciting conversations that matter. The audience will share stories over delicious food, enjoy and experience a fabulous Fashion Show presented by local and international designers and dance to fun music. Proceeds from our event will be used for the planning of upcoming events that will continue to empower persons within the community and our Dreaming Butterflies Program,” Winter-Thomas said.

The fashion show will feature works from Guyanese designers Quinton Pearson, Pamela Fox, Nadia Winter-Thomas, Rhoda Doxa, Vanda Allicock – Calistro and Habibah Atherly. Trinidadian designer Damian Moore and BVI Designer Markita Smith will also grace the runway with their designers.

Tickets for the event cost $6,000 and can be purchased at Tower Hotel and Rare Finez in Giftland Mall.

About ELC “Empowering to Lead with Confidence”

ELC is a volunteer membership-based nonprofit organization started by a group of Professional Guyanese. The organization is about building leadership, encouraging everyone to walk boldly in their talents, focusing on community awareness, empowerment, health & wellness and professional development. The organisations strive to inspire all Guyanese to live a life of purpose so that it can build a generation of men and women who understand their worth, and who are unwilling to compromise their character and uniqueness for the appeasement of others.

Support for the arts
ELC’s goals involve creating programs that will be beneficial to the growth of school-age students focusing on the Arts (Music, Visual Arts, Drama).

Encouraging children to embrace their individuality; to express themselves creatively, and follow their artistic dreams. Part of the proceeds of this event will help us to provide art & music supplies to underprivileged children and schools.

“We see a pressing need in many communities for the promotion of charitable donations of art and music supplies to support individuals, schools, and other nonprofit organizations serving youth and the arts. Core to our identity is the belief that all children, regardless of their financial circumstances, should have access to art education. As a public charity powered by volunteers, this belief drives all that we do,” Winter-Thomas said.

Research has shown that art education has a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the learning field across socio-economic boundaries. Yet, all too often art, music and drama are the first areas affected by budget cuts, leaving children and young adults without the resources necessary to participate in these education enriching programs.

Their Aim is to provide art, music and drama materials free of charge to schools and community organizations. The Dreaming Butterflies Program is instrumental in increasing access to the benefits of art, music and drama education for thousands of children across the country.