-as ITEC celebrates 57 years of existence

More than 600 Guyanese, including several high-level officials, have so far benefitted from capacity training as well as visits to India under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme, which celebrates its 57th anniversary this year.

Among the most prominent beneficiaries were President Dr. Irfaan Ali, and Mrs. Mignon Bowen-Phillips, the wife of Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, who shared her experiences during an ITEC Day anniversary celebration hosted by the Indian High Commission on Wednesday evening, at the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC).

Prior to her husband’s ascension to office, Mrs. Bowen-Phillips benefitted from a six-week course in Governance and Management of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India.

Reflecting on the experience, Mrs. Bowen-Phillips said that it was one that has left a lasting impression. “For me it was a combination of gaining new knowledge, networking with others and embarking on a spiritual journey to refresh my own thoughts about my purpose in life,” she shared.

Mrs. Bowen-Phillips, who stayed in India for the duration of her training, said that she was impressed by the cultural knowledge that she was able to acquire during her visit. “My positive experiences in India will remain with me forever…During my stay in India, I discovered a new India, one which is vibrant, colourful, advanced in technology and rich in culture – every city with its own history and story to tell,” Mrs. Bowen-Phillips reminisced.

She added, “With confidence I can declare that the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India delivered a high-quality programme geared towards accelerated learning in a very comfortable environment.”

Also commending ITEC was Deputy Postmaster General, Anastacia Jessemy-Lynch, who also benefitted from a similar training. “India is a beautiful place and the training that you will get there is one of a kind,” Lynch expressed.

Wednesday’s ceremony also included several cultural displays, featuring dances and yoga. There was also an exhibition booth displaying some Ayurvedic products, which are traditional Indian health supplements.

Fully-funded by the Government of India, the ITEC programme was started in September 1964 as a bilateral programme of assistance from the Government of India. It comprises several components, including a training programme which affords persons from developing countries, such as Guyana, the opportunity to visit India and benefit from over 1200 short-term, long-term and medium-term courses.  Today, the programme is available in 161 countries across the world.

“ITEC has been a vehicle to share India’s developmental stories. It has been a visible symbol of India’s role and contribution to the South, Southwest cooperation, a partnership that was born out of a shared sense of solidarity,” commented Dr. K. J. Srinivasa, High Commissioner of India to Guyana.
“We are very proud that many ITEC alumni would have excelled in their professions and have carved a niche for themselves with many of them becoming heads of states, heads of government, ministers, senior diplomats, entrepreneurs, etcetera,” he added.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand was also present at Wednesday’s ceremony and applauded the ITEC programme, particularly commending the Government of India for ensuring that the programme is tailored to the needs of the respective countries. “What has been remarkable about our friendship over the years, and India’s relationship with the rest of the world is that India is not forcing whatever they can onto partnering nations, but is finding ways to meet the needs of those nations and prioritising whatever those nations desire in their developmental priorities. And that has worked so well,” Manickchand remarked.

Aside from the ITEC Programme, Guyana has also collaborated with India under the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) where two universities in India are among a number of institutions to which some 6000 Guyanese were offered scholarships.

Under the ITEC training programme, Guyana is annually allotted 50 training slots for courses in a number of areas, ranging from information technology and rural development, to parliamentary practices and entrepreneurship, as well as marine to aeronautical engineering.

This year, Guyana is also benefitting from military training under the iconic programme, with 19 training slots offered to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF); of those, 10 have been reserved for the army, four for the coast guard and five for the air force. These training programmes will have varying time periods and will run from 2021 – 2022.

Additionally, some 25 members from the media were also trained this year in ITEC’s new online programme, E-ITEC, which was created as a result of the need for virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has since restricted travelling.

The awarding of the training slots is facilitated by the Ministry of Public Service, headed by Minister Sonia Parag, who said that she wished to have been able to benefit from one of the training programmes in India.

The minister said that even though she was not a beneficiary of any of ITEC’s programmes, she has personally seen the benefit they have provided to persons who would have experienced same. “As the Minister of Public Service I am extremely grateful for the opportunities that the Government of India has afforded the Guyanese population through this initiative. We must applaud the many achievements in the longstanding relationship between Guyana and India. We must continue to build on our strong cultural ties and deepen the bonds of friendship, especially as they relate to science and technology,” she said.