The International Decade for People of African Descent Assembly- Guyana (IDPADA-G) has organised a two-day conference targeting youth, with a focus on areas such as oil and gas, economic empowerment, social justice and activism.
The conference began yesterday morning at the Guyana Industrial Training Centre, at Woolford Avenue, under the theme “Resuscitating our African Culture and Identity.”
The format of the conference allowed for both presentations made by guest speakers, as well as interactive sessions with the participants.
According to Elizabeth Williams-Niles, Chairwoman of the IDPADA-G History Committee, who gave a brief introduction, the conference was necessary to show the youth their origin.
“I think for a very long time we have forgotten our history, we have forgotten as a people how strong, powerful and resilient we are because we have been made to survive in an environment that has been challenging for so many years,” she said.
“While sitting there with my team I said to them, let us bring our young people together and teach them; let them understand who they are… For the next two days, let us not just sit back, let us copiously make notes, and let us set in our hearts and our minds that when we leave these hollow walls that we as a people will go back, each one, teach one, and let people know you’re important… I want to change the narrative of our young people of African descent,” Williams-Niles added.
Included on the list of speakers for the conference are attorney Nigel Hughes, playwright Mosa Telford, veteran journalist Enrico Wooldford and Dr Kimani Nehusi, among others.
Meanwhile, according to a press statement issued by the organisation, an empowerment conference targeting the elder generation was also to be launched last evening, under the United Nation’s theme for the decade, “People of African descent: recognition, justice and development.”
This conference is intended to speak to the familiarisation of the decade and the period’s goals and objectives to “Reclaim, revitalize and restore African heritage and culture through education, entrepreneurial/employment activity and youth empowerment.”
Included on the line up for this conference are the renowned US-born historian Anthony Browder and cultural activist Dr Vibert C. Cambridge, A.A.
