Dear Editor,
March has come and with it several activities for the UN Year for People of African Descent are planned. During February which was also Black History Month and Mashramani, there were numerous events held in schools and villages in Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo. A great deal of thanks must be given to teachers and schools who on their own initiatives, celebrated the UN Year for People of African Descent while stressing the multi-cultural context of Guyana. Debates, speeches, concerts, exhibitions and conferences were held across the country, many of which were well attended but sometimes overshadowed by the hype and commercialism of Mashramani.
The March agenda for the All African Guyanese Council is as follows although other activities are still being planned, such as Farmers Conference in Essequibo.
1. March 5 Farmers Conference St Stanislaus 1 pm
2. March 6 Ghana Day Channel 9 1 pm
3. March 16 UMOJA Movie ACDA HQ 330 pm
4. March 17 Mocha Concert Mocha 1 pm
5. March 18 Linden Concert Linden 7 pm
6. March 24 Hall of Heroes ACDA HQ 11am
7. March 26 Seed to Pot” ACDA HQ 10 am
8. March 27 Buxton Concert Buxton 5 pm
This weekend, there are two very important events: The Farmers Conference and Ghana Day. The Farmers Conference which will be chaired by Dr Simpson DaSilva and Dr Vernon McPherson is a follow up to the Food Security Conference held in late January. The diplomatic and donor communities have been invited as observers to hear about issues facing African farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture will also send two attendees
Ghana Day is celebrated because Ghana was the first Black African country to gain ‘Independence’ on March 6, 1957 under Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who in his first speech as Prime Minister said “Ghana, your beloved country is free forever.”
Towards the end of the month, the All African Guyanese Council (AAGC) will launch its Hall of Heroes. The public is invited to nominate their choices by sending their recommendations to commongroundguyana@mail.com. Already, there has been a tremendous response through Facebook
The AAGC would like the public and schools to become involved in the development of historical information that can be put in Guideposts. The Council would like to be contacted by members of the public as it is seeking to write Guideposts on the ‘Contributions of African Guyanese’ to medicine, nursing, teaching , science and sports. These contributions are numerous and often times overlooked. We need your expertise and can be contacted at the above email address or by calling 225-8420.
Yours faithfully,
Eric Phillips
Member of AAGC and
Member of ACDA
