HIGH-SPEED PAINTING COMPETITION PREVAILED OVER TORRENTIAL RAINFALL

Despite the torrential downpour Policy Forum Guyana’s (PFG) High-Speed Painting Competition was successfully carried out on Saturday, December 3^rd at St. Stanislaus auditorium. Having taken the prior precaution of shifting the venue from the fence outside of Parliament to St. Stanislaus College auditorium the competition saw seventeen teams compete in four age-categories. Teams were mainly school-based, but also included teams from children’s homes and groups of friends.

The competition’s theme aimed to illustrate the goals Guyana needs in order to achieve climate-compatible Guyanese lifestyles. Suggested goals included:

1.    A Guyana that seeks inclusion rather than winners & losers;

2.    A mentally and physically healthier Guyana;

3.    A Resource Responsible Guyana;

4.    A Guyana that protects its rivers and forests.

5.    A resilient Guyana; 6. A Guyana of Cohesive Communities;

6.    A Guyana that listens to its young people;

7.    A Guyana that recognizes the rights of future generations;

8.    A Guyana that recycles, repairs and reuses; and

9.    A Guyana that treats everyone humanely.

The competition constituted the first fun step by Guyanese youth, motivated by climate justice convictions. Similar events are planned for other Regions, with Anna Regina and Linden first in line. By progressively focusing on and interpreting the above goals, the process will culminate in a Future Generations Manifesto, a youth-driven vision of the future. The process of developing the Manifesto will facilitate the younger generation to more effectively influence decisions that affect them. The second and later phases of the project will see the younger generation seeking support for the Manifesto from the business, professional, trade unions sectors and ultimately political endorsement.

Winners selected by a panel of three judges were as follows:

10-12 Age Group

1^st  Place  Smith’s Memorial  Primary

3^rd Place   Save the Forest (Strathspey Primary)

13-15  Age Group

1^st  Place  Green Gladiators (Marian Academy)

3^rd  Place  Westminster Secondary

16-18 Age Group

1^st   Place  Richard Ishmael Secondary

2^nd Place North Georgetown Sec.

19-25  Age Group

2^nd Place Dear Tigers

Winners of each category included electronic tablets for winners, along with $10,000 and $8,000 gift certificates and copies of illustrated books on Guyana. Policy Forum Guyana is particularly indebted to Bounty Supermarket for its generous donation of gift certificates worth in total of $120,000. Additional sponsors were A&R Jiwanram Printery, WWF-Guianas, Guyana Human Rights Association, Gift Centre, Austin’s Bookstore and Conservation International.

Policy Forum Guyana (PFG)

DECEMBER 5^TH, 2022