AS a pageant contestant and titleholder, one has a responsibility to lead and use one’s talents to instigate change. It is for these reasons that community service projects are an important part of a pageant queen’s platform.
For this year’s Miss Emancipation pageant, the five stunning and effervescent women vying for the crown have embarked on a series of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) projects within their respective communities.
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday, Gabrielle Cummings, pageant director and the 2018 Miss Emancipation Queen, stated that, in keeping with the pageant’s theme “Healing, Education Post Pandemic”, the coordinators of the event organised a community-based project to promote virtual learning amidst the pandemic.

“This year, the STEM project is meted out to the community rather than something that the girls will just learn for their own personal gain. It is more community based,” she said. The women were tasked with identifying and working along with a child or children in their community to help them adjust to virtual learning.
“So, each of the delegates was tasked with identifying a child or children in their community that need assistance with school work and virtual classes,” Cummings said, adding: “Each delegate used their own unique way to involve their students. So for example, one delegate developed a computer hub in her community [and] another delegate decided to teach students how to build websites.”
Straying away from the stereotypical norm of what a pageant is, Cummings said that the Miss Emancipation pageant showcases more than just what meets the eyes and ears.

“The first emancipation pageant that happened sometime in 2013, the organizers at the time decided that they would stray from the norm of the girls just dressing up,” Cummings said.
She further noted that contestants are required to take part in a series of educational trainings to push self-development.
“We planned to find a way to educate our girls and make sure that when they leave the pageant they leave with an experience. Aside from their STEM project, they will be doing their African history classes… we offered financial literacy courses, public speaking courses, so all of these things would have been done via zoom.”
On the last Saturday of the month, the finalists will showcase their community projects.
Expected to be dressed in their finest, the women will display their evening gowns and thereafter a queen will be crowned.