Over 700 citizens countrywide to become social cohesion advocates

15 persons are being trained as part of a core team, which will work in the ten administrative regions of Guyana to train over 700 citizens to become social cohesion advocates within their communities, a release from the Ministry of the Presidency said.

The Ministry of Social Cohesion recently launched its Diversity Education and Inclusion Workshop at the Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue as part of a two-day orientation to provide the core trainers with materials and other information for their task ahead.

Those trained were selected by the Ministry of Social Cohesion based on past performances in training and facilitating sessions and included some participants of the United Nations Development Programme 2000-2003 Social Cohesion Programme, the release added.

Minister of Social Cohesion, Ms. Amna Ally, said that this programme, which comes even as the ongoing Consultations are winding down, will ensure that the mandate of social cohesion is filtered from a national level to a community level.

Noting that the idea of social cohesion is not a new one, the Minister added that it is important for all sections of the community to be included, as every person in society has a significant contribution to make. She added that the core idea is to understand that the people of Guyana must come together to achieve a common goal.

Lead Trainer of the workshops, Ms. Kala Seegopaul, explained that the topics, which will be covered in the training sessions include values, behaviours, trust building, communication and the need for inclusivity. But the sessions are also aimed at identifying traditional ways in which communities maintain relationships in order to build on those methods to strengthen social cohesion, the release added.

The community based training sessions are expected to begin on October 22. The core trainers will be divided among the regions and work with community members from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Parent Teachers’ Associations, Neighbourhood and Regional Democratic Councils and other influential groups within the communities.