The University of Guyana (UG) says that its second Diaspora conference, which will be held between May 28 and June 1, will be centered on Indigenous, Women and Youth Leaders.
The theme will be ‘Investing in Guyana’s Emerging Business, Indigenous, Women and Youth Leaders’. According to the institution, the theme was chosen in recognition of the need for all Guyanese at home and abroad to work together with inclusion, tolerance and cooperation for national and regional growth and development.
“The University of Guyana remains committed to diaspora engagement and facilitating a positive enabling environment and discussion on ways in which Guyanese can best work together to accomplish joint goals towards creating
prosperity for all our people,” the University said in a statement earlier today.
This conference will feature a mixture of academic and non-academic experiences, and will host a number of panels, fora, roundtables and multimedia presentations on key thematic areas.
To meet the challenge of Diaspora Engagement, and to ensure the strategic integrity and sustainability of the University’s Diaspora project, the University of Guyana has appointed Dr. Mellissa Ifill, Lecturer in History at the University of Guyana, and Dr. Wazir Mohamed, a member of the diaspora and Associate Professor of Sociology at Indiana University East, as Co-Chairs of the 2nd University of Guyana Diaspora Engagement Conference.
In addition, the following key individuals from UG and the Diaspora, along with others still to be named, will play key roles in the planning process for the conference: Gillian Williams (Toronto), Chet Bolling (Moscow), Lear Matthews (New York), Brandon Cheong (Toronto), Adeti DeJesus (Guyana), Mellissa
Bess (UG), Arlene McLean (UG), Denise Braam (UG) and Ms. Leisa Somrah (UG).
The University’s Transition Management Committee (TMC) will maintain oversight of the project.
“The TMC wishes to thank the new conference Coordinating Team for their sterling work over the last few months in ensuring an excellent event
for 2020. The University of Guyana also specifically values and welcomes the support from the diaspora, state and non-state actors, government, the private sector, civil society, the public at home and abroad, and all stakeholders
as it builds out the project of diaspora engagement.”
UG said that “it is a well documented fact”, that Diaspora engagement is one of the major building blocks for national development.
Submissions and Registrations will be accepted from January 30, 2020 at the University of Guyana’s Conferences website www.uog.edu/conference and also on the Diaspora Conferences dedicated website https://diaspora-entrepreneurship.uog.edu.gy/
