– Hopes to learn from Singapore, possibly establish partnerships

FIRST LADY, Sandra Granger, has been exploring ways of advancing local youth development through her visit to Singapore, where she hopes to learn from the country’s institutions and possibly establish partnerships with those.

The First Lady was initially invited to Singapore for the naming ceremony of the Liza Destiny Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is the first oil production vessel to be placed in Guyana. In a video interview, she shared that she decided to use the opportunity to visit two youth-oriented institutions in the country: the Science Centre Singapore (SCS) and the SHINE Children and Youth Services Centre.

The SCS is a scientific institution in Jurong East, Singapore, which specialises in the promotion of scientific and technological education for youth. The work of this institution was particularly appealing to the First Lady, who is the patron of local robotics organisation, STEMGuyana, and has travelled to numerous communities across Guyana to host STEM and robotics workshops.

“If we can get our kids started very early, because they (Singapore) start encouraging kids to be excited about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) from an early age… if we can start that in Guyana, I see no reason our young people cannot develop and grow and become active participants in the future job market or the present job market as it evolves,” the First Lady said.

She however noted that her visit here was only an initial one, but she is hoping that Guyana would be able to learn from the SCS. Of particular interest to her was that the organisation works with the Singapore Ministry of Education, has private sector support and support from international organisations.

Mrs. Granger indicated too that she was pleased with the work being done – particularly in encouraging youth to think of innovative solutions, through the use of technology, to global issues and it is her hope that some partnership can eventually be formed.

The SHINE Centre, on the other hand, caters to at-risk youths as well as those suffering from mental health, welfare and disciplinary challenges.

And the First Lady said that it was a “golden opportunity” to see how the social services are tailored specifically for young people at risk, by integrating innovative techniques to help youth lead what may be deemed as a “normal existence”.

“A takeaway is that the centre, in and of itself, is a place where children immerse themselves in science and to be guided by older folks, talented folks, and also visitors from around the world to learn about science and technology and showing how important and how viable these things are not only in our young people, but also in future careers,” she said.

And in a similar vein to the SCS, she expressed her belief that this model of work is one which would augur well for Guyana if adopted.