Guyana to host regional home economics conference

Hundreds of persons from throughout the region will converge in Guyana when the biennial meeting and conference of the Caribbean Association of Home Economists (CAHE) holds its 21st gathering.

The meeting, scheduled for March 30 to April 1, next year, will be the third time Guyana has the honour of being the host country.

The Guyana Association of Home Economists (GAHE) is the local body responsible for planning and executing this event and expressed pleasure at the task. “It is envisaged that the holding of this conference in Guyana will increase public awareness of the many facets of Home Economics which is inclusive of, but stretches way beyond, the honing of practical skills for homemaking,” the body said in a release.

Stacia Skinner
Stacia Skinner

Some of the major issues to be tackled during the conference will be financial literacy, Home Economics skills for life, capacity building and intergenerational solidarity.

“The conference is also an avenue for examining topical issues thus enhancing professional development of members and associates, while providing opportunities for social and professional networking and the social and economic growth of the territories in which they are held,” said Stacia Skinner, President of GAHE.

Lois Moseley, treasurer of GAHE, also explained that the conference presented the opportunity to network and form viable relationships with other countries. She further said that it will be a chance to showcase Guyana’s tourism, especially with the availability of a market during the meetings.

Besides theoretical sessions, participants will be privy to workshops and social activities, such as culture night.

Skinner revealed that the organisation will be looking at different ways of involving the private sector and will be making approaches for support for the event.

CAHE is a non-governmental organisation of over 500 members from the anglophone Caribbean, Guyana, Belize and, to a lesser extent, North America. GAHE has been in existence for almost 60 years.

The theme for the 2015 conference is “Community partnership for economic and social empowerment of families through Home Economics.”