IDPADA-G hosted its 2ND Annual African Youth Leadership and Empowerment Conference under the theme, “Youth in Guyana’s New Economy: Opportunities for Success.” The conference, held on February 15th, 2020 at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, addressed over 300 youth between the ages of 18-35, from 8 of the 10 Administrative Regions in Guyana.
Young entrepreneurs displayed their products in the Conference Marketplace, networking with their peers and establishing beneficial linkages. Participants were excited and inspired to learn about their products and eagerly supported them.
Inspiring presentations on African and African Guyanese history, careers, training opportunities along with cultural segments such as drumming, national songs and spoken word motivated and enlightened attendees.
The programme, hosted by Youth Committee members Ms. Zoe Frank and Mr. Yuborn Allicock, featured addresses by Ministers of Government, Hon. Catherine Hughes, Hon. Tabitha Sarabo-Halley and International Guest Speaker Ms. Atlantis Browder. IDPADA-G’s Chair, Mr. Vincent Alexander, explained IDPADA-G’s vision and plans to fulfill the mandate of the UN mandated Decade for People of African Descent. Youth committee Chair, Mr. Matthew Gaul, shared about the genesis and work of the youth committee and invited participants to become engaged in the process.
Ms. Atlantis Browder– African American Egyptologist, Author and Educator, spoke on the topic of African history, pre-enslavement. She boldly proclaimed the fact, that if African History was a 1000-page book, enslavement would be only one page. This reinforced the fact that African history is rich and that we should all take pride in who we are, our contribution to civilization and the need to take up our rightful place in the development of our society. She reiterated that “before there was any other history there was African History.”
Minister Hughes in her address drew the audience’s attention to the message on her t-shirt – “History has its eyes on you” and reminded the youth that “we came here with our ancestor’s blood in the oceans and now . . . because of their sweat, because of their pain, because of their vision, because of their sacrifice, all of us can sit here . . . to talk about where we want to go.”
Minister Halley inspired youth with a message urging them to take collective action for greater impact. She encouraged each person to bring their best to the table in the aim of making Guyana a better place and noted that youth do not have to be in high office to make an impact, since every decision that they make now impacts their lives and by extension the society.
Breakout sessions provided youth with useful and timely information about the business and employment opportunities available under Guyana’s new Decade of Development, including the new energy sector.
Mr. Eric Phillips, Chair of the Guyana Reparations Committee presented the case for reparative justice for Guyanese of African Descent. He specifically recounted the invaluable contributions made by African Guyanese to the development of Guyana and the centuries of unpaid labour that our ancestors gave to build this nation. Mr. Sharma Solomon, former Chairman of Region 10, spoke about political history and the responsibilities of youth in a democratic Guyana. Having lived through several injustices endured by African Guyanese such as the 2012 Linden struggle and having risen to the occasion himself, to offer leadership to his region- he made an impassioned plea to youth to make their own contributions to Guyana.
Ms. Elsie Harry, Master’s student and 2017 valedictorian of the University of Guyana, brought the conference to a powerful close with a call to youth action – to prepare themselves to become leaders of their communities and to help shape Guyana’s development trajectory.