EVEN with the challenges that come with participating in a virtual competition, the Guyana participants came off victorious in the recently held ‘Mister and Miss Model of Tourism World’ competition and they’ve both expressed how happy they are with the win.
The pageant aims to showcase the cultures of various countries through tourism, travel and humanitarianism, and the winners in the first edition are Paul Anthony Charles, 35, and Raveena Mangal, 29.

Though virtual, the pageant featured many traditional segments such as swimwear, evening, talent, runway and national costume. Paul won the ‘Mr. Model of Tourism World’ title and also copped other awards such as top model- male, head-to-head challenge – male, best in swimwear – male, top three tourism speaker, top three humanitarian project, best talent winner, and best in costume – male.

Raveena won the ‘Miss Model of Tourism World’ title and also received other awards such as the top model – female, national costume – female, head to head challenge winner- female, best tourism speaker, and people’s choice award – female.
The Pepperpot Magazine understands that there were initially 14 participating countries in the pageant, but due to the challenges of the pandemic, it was narrowed down to about half those countries. The countries included Pakistan, Guyana, Jamaica, South Africa, Bangladesh, the USA, and Colombia.

Speaking with Pepperpot Magazine, Paul said he felt excited, humbled, and thankful for winning the title. “Though I’ve won pageants before and you would think I would be cool and collected with my win, I was crying like a baby. It’s an amazing feeling and I’m honoured.”

Raveena said winning was the culmination of hard work and dedication that went into the competition by all who supported the event, especially the Director, Roshini Boodhoo-Persaud.
“The outpouring of support I’ve received on social media, especially from women, has made me more confident in my purpose and my arms are stronger to carry the pillars of beauty and strength that the organisation represents. I am grateful for the journey behind me and ready and ecstatic for the journey that will be,” she expressed.
For Paul, coping with a virtual pageant was surprisingly challenging. “It was one of the most difficult pageants I’ve done, but it opened my eyes to my creative abilities. Having an amazing team to advise me and guide me helped immensely.”

Being used to virtual meetings and events, Raveena was prepared. “We planned, prepared and organised as a team for the pageant, but what was most astonishing was that I was still able to feel as though I got the full pageant experience. We got to make new friends, experience new places (even though it was right here in Guyana) and experience the glamour of photoshoots and outings. We had fun and worked on our humanitarian causes, while also training to be great ambassadors for our country.”
Commenting further on the experience, she said it has allowed her to become the best version of herself. “Though I had many moments of self-doubt, my biggest takeaway from this journey has been overcoming those moments and learning to love myself despite my flaws.”

Paul said he would encourage anyone to come and experience the feeling of being in a pageant. “Pageantry is not only for females and it can be just as beneficial for males. This is a stigma I was very passionate about and I am a testament to overcoming and proving how much can be achieved for a male in pageantry.”
He is from the small community of Albouystown and works with the Ministry of Health National AIDS Programme Secretariat, where he does outreaches across Guyana and the Ministry of Education, where he teaches workshops in dance.

Raveena hails from the quaint community of Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara and is the head of Marketing and Sales at the Institute of Applied Science and Technology, where she has helped to develop local products and was fortunate to extensively travel Guyana’s hinterland.