Newly-crowned Miss Caribbean Culture Queen, Shemina Peroune, returned to local shores on Friday, and received a warm welcome when she arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at Timehri, East Bank Demerara.
The Guyanese beauty outshone her competitors to cop the title in St Kitts and Nevis on Monday evening before a massive Guyanese contingent of spectators.
The 20-year-old Aeronautical Engineering student dazzled the Caribbean crowd with her poise, eloquence, talent and beauty; won the award for the Best Interview, and was also deemed Miss Photogenic at the pageant. She plans to utilise her platform to promote women’s empowerment against the backdrop of regional integration.
“My platform for the Guyana Culture Queen pageant was ‘women empowerment’, and now that I have a greater platform of Caribbean integration, a regional platform, I intend to ensure that I play a role in strengthening regional integration, and I intend to do so through past and future queens, through the creation of a body,” she explained.
She is encouraging other young women to exercise their full potential despite what challenges may befall them.
“I would say try to make spaces in rooms that you are not welcome in, and that competition is always within. Strive to always compete with yourself, and not the persons around you,” Peroune has urged.
Peroune says she is incredibly grateful for these successes, and has credited her family, friends, and team as a valuable support system.
When asked to describe the environment on the island of Nevis and the overall experience, she commended the hospitality of both the delegates and the members of the committee, adding that their beauty and hospitality mirror that of Guyana. She also shared her appreciation for the bonds forged with the other delegates.
Meanwhile, the Franchise Holder, Fashion Designer Randy Madray, has said the experience was an exciting journey that saw hard work from all parties involved.
“It became much larger than what we anticipated, and I am very grateful for the very experienced, professional, and dynamic team that I had. The people on my team were all experts in pageantry, and I think that is what made this such an amazing success. We knew that we had the ability to achieve the crown,” he has said.
He added that the overarching aim going forward is to ensure that this platform promotes Caribbean Culture, and that the new Queen is robustly involved in advancing this agenda.
“We want to ensure that we uphold the mandate of high standards, and promote and market our culture. In this case, the aim is to ensure that we integrate the Caribbean’s true culture,” he disclosed.
The Miss Caribbean Culture Queen pageant saw contestants from nine Caribbean countries competing in a variety of categories, including interviews, talent, swimwear, evening wear, and question and answer.
