THE Guyana Centre for Civic Engagement (GYCCE), a Region Six-based non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation, has plans in place to tackle civil education and engagement among Guyanese youth.

The GYCCE was formed in April 2023 by its founder and director, Deodat Persaud. The centre started as one of his Community Action Projects (CAP) during his time in the United States.

Persaud disclosed that he was the first Guyanese to be selected to participate in the Community Solutions Programme in the United States. This was in 2022.

Persaud spent four months at the Georgia Centre for Civic Engagement where he had the opportunity to see firsthand how civic engagement is executed.

Speaking with this publication, he said the centre intends to have more activities geared towards the promotion of patriotism among locals and has a long-term goal to create a local Centre of Democracy.

He explained that the centre aims to engage and inform young people on the contributions made by our past and present leaders, the impact their policies has had on Guyana’s development, and to appreciate their successes and failures.

Another activity in the pipeline for the GYCCE is aimed at developing the public-speaking skills of its participants. This is expected to be rolled out in 2026.

Speaking on current activities, Persaud revealed that they recently conducted a training session in Region 10, where they targeted high school children in forms three and four (grades nine and 10), teaching them six core modules.

These modules are taught by a group of professionals over a six-hour period. Subsequent to this, participants are engaged in at least a month of mentorship, which seeks to guide them through the implementation of projects.

Similar training has been done in Regions Six, Two, Five, and Seven. The goal is to prepare the youths of today to be tomorrow’s leaders.

According to Persaud, the 14-year-olds of today will be eligible to cast their votes at Guyana’s next national and regional elections and can become local leaders in their respective regions/ communities.

“So, we want to be able to spark a sort of interest in them. So, first of all do not shirk when that opportunity presents for leadership. So that’s what we’re doing — starting to prepare the next generation of leaders,” he told this publication.
Although it is non-governmental, the Ministry of Education has lent support to the GYCCE, a partnership that is critical in their work.

The centre has also written to President, Dr Irfaan Ali, with the aim of finding ways to partner and advance civic engagement at the national level.

Highlighting more of their work, Persaud said that In Regions Two, Five, Six, Seven, Nine, and 10, 215 students have completed training, along with approximately 50 teachers. In addition to Linden, in Lethem, Region Nine, 27 students and two teachers are expected to graduate from a recently concluded training session.