Preparations in ‘high gear’ for Golden Jubilee
Director of Culture, Tamika Boatswain
Director of Culture, Tamika Boatswain

By Vishani Ragobeer

AS Guyana prepares to observe 50 years as a Cooperative Republic, on February 23, Director of Culture (DoC), Tamika Boatswain said preparations for the ‘Golden Jubilee’ are in high-gear.

“[The preparations] are coming along at a pace; time seems to be flying by but we’re trying to get things going to heighten the pace, the awareness and to get people participating in our events,” Boatswain said in a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

The director of culture related that the 50th anniversary is quite a momentous occasion for Guyana, and as such, the Department of Culture under the Ministry of Social Cohesion, has been tailoring events that are reflective of this achievement.

The department has already put out a schedule of events for the jubilee celebrations, and at a simple glance, it would appear to be just a number of cultural events stitched together. However, the DoC mentioned that these events were actually structured in tandem with the theme for the Mashramani celebration this year, which is: “Guyana Together — Reflect, Celebrate, Transform.”

“The jubilee presents one of several great platforms where we can practise our traditions and artforms,” she underscored.

The first string of events fall under the umbrella of ‘Guyana together’, and includes 50 days of prayer and efforts directed towards encouraging community celebrations and sporting activities.

Then, there are aspects of the celebration which help Guyanese ‘reflect’ on the purpose for the Republic. Here, Boatswain said it is the department’s aim to highlight what is intrinsically meant by Guyana being a ‘Cooperative Republic’. In achieving this aim, she related that there will be exhibitions at the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum and at the National Archives. She also indicated that there will be symposia and a lecture series which will relate how Guyana became a Cooperative Republic.

There is also the ‘celebrate’ component, which provides avenues for Guyanese to celebrate belonging to a sovereign nation, according to the director.

“Traditionally, the Republic has been celebrated through Mashramani, and in this ‘celebrate’ section, there will be more ‘Mash’- oriented activities, along with some more focused activities,” she explained.

And finally, there is the ‘transform’ component, which seeks to direct focus onto how Guyana will position itself for further development over the next decade, or even half-century.

Through this component, a youth symposium will be organised. Boatswain noted that this is expected to help young people understand what the next decade beckons for Guyana and how development in the country will be actualised through their participation.

She also noted that President David Granger’s plan for a “Decade of Development” will also take centre-stage, where specific activities will be crafted to sensitise Guyanese on how the country will be transformed over the next decade.

Today, Sunday, January 12, there will be the pan-o-rama launch from 17:00 hrs at the Seawall Bandstand and then there will be a Mash pop-up concert on the Kitty seawall from 20:00 hrs.

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