A SPECIAL Memorial Service in honour of the late Carmen Jarvis will be held at Smith Memorial Congregational Church, 55 Brickdam on Friday.
The service will commence at 10:00 hrs. Interment at Le Repentir Cemetery will take place immediately following the service, a release from Guyenterprise said. Donations will be accepted to establish The Carmen Jarvis Memorial Award – an annual plaque and monetary award presented to a student of the Bishops’ High School, Georgetown, Guyana, who by nomination of his/her teachers, demonstrates “academic excellence and exemplary conduct”;values Mrs. Jarvis sought to instil in her students.
Contributions in Guyana may be made by sending cheques to the BHS Old Students Association, c/o The Bishops’ High School, 84 Carmichael Street, Georgetown. Please make cheque payable to “BHSOSA” and include “Carmen Jarvis Memorial Fund” in the memo area of the cheque. All donations will be gratefully acknowledged with a receipt.
Jarvis died late March in the United States.
Describing her as a stalwart who made outstanding contributions to Guyana’s Education System even before independence, President David Granger had said that Ms Jarvis, an iconic Guyanese, will surely be missed.
The former Secretary-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) died at the age 91. “She was our country’s representative to UNESCO and in this regard, she was able to give Guyana great prominence in the world, particularly for heritage sites,” President Granger had said.
In her years of teaching, Ms Jarvis was employed at Queen’s College before being appointed Headmistress of The Bishops’ High School, where she served for 27 years. In 1979, she was offered the post of Secretary-General of the Guyana National Commission of UNESCO, which she accepted. During her tenure there, she attended and participated in every General Conference between 1980 and 2003 and had made meaningful interventions in every commission, even in cases where she was the sole delegate from Guyana. She was one of the longest-serving and also one of the most respected individuals to hold the post of Secretary-General and was awarded the Aristotle Medal by UNESCO.

Ms Jarvis was also responsible for Guyana being elected on the Executive Board of UNESCO twice, from 1983 to 1987 and from 1993 to 1997. She played an integral role in Guyana once being elected to the Man and the Biosphere International Council and several times to the Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC).
In 1983, she was appointed the first woman Chairman of the National Library Committee. She also served on the Council of the University of Guyana for some 14 years. In 1981, she was awarded the Golden Arrow of Achievement for long and outstanding service in Education and Social Work. In 1998, Ms Jarvis was awarded a second national award, this time, the Cacique Crown of Honour for her outstanding service in Education and Social Work.