– Guyana to reap significant benefitsBy Sharmain CornetteFrom left: Secretary-General (Guyana) Inge Nathoo, Secretary-General Antonio Maynard (St Kitts and Nevis) ,Cheap Jerseys, Minister Shaik Baksh,Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys, Minister Dr Desrey Fox and Secretary-General (Jamaica) Everton HannamAs part of UNESCO’s mission to strengthen the National Commissions in the Caribbean sub-region, a high level group from the entity has been visiting Guyana over the last three days.Guyana is home to a National Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) which was only re-launched on Tuesday with 10 persons as commissioners.The Commissioners who were drawn from NGOs and the private sector, according to Minister of Education Shaik Baksh, will represent and be involved in five key areas including Education which is directly linked to the Education Ministry.The Minister’s disclosure was made yesterday when he hosted a media briefing at the Education Ministry in the company of members of the high level team including Antonio Maynard, Everton Hannam and Inge Nathoo, Secretaries-General of UNESCO National Commissions of St Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica and Guyana respectively. Minister within the Education Ministry, Dr Desrey Fox, also graced the forum with her presence.Among the other key areas that the National Commission will focus on are culture,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, natural sciences, information and communication and social and human sciences.And according to Minister Baksh, he is appreciative of the visiting Secretaries-General presence as they are here to examine what is being done at the local Commission as against what is done in other National Commissions.“They are here to offer advice on how we can strengthen the local Commission in terms of giving it more effectiveness and greater visibility in Guyana.”As such, the Minister noted, the re-launched commission will be focusing and developing work programmes within the next month in order to give UNESCO’s activities in Guyana a higher profile.Minister Baksh disclosed that Guyana has over the years been able to benefit from consultancies and projects through UNESCO and is now entitled to proceed with several projects valued at US$350,000 over the next biennium (2010-2011).And there are a large number of projects that the Commissioners will have to consider for approval in the key areas covered by UNESCO.Of recent, Guyana was able to commence a consultancy venture for a science and technology policy, which according to the Minister,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, is long overdue. That policy, he said,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, will be accompanied by a management plan of action.Also it was noted that UNESCO through the auspices of its office in Jamaica has helped to develop a policy for school health nutrition and HIV/AIDS, the Minister disclosed.“An area which we want to,Wholesale NBA Jerseys, within the next year or two, seek the assistance of UNESCO is for a literacy survey. That is very important especially in view of the several interventions which the Ministry has embarked upon just over the last year.”In this regard, Minister Baksh noted that the efforts will be made to appoint an advisory committee in order to get Guyana back on the UNESCO heritage list, with the key stakeholder being the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.Secretary-General Maynard, in emphasising Minister Baksh’s disclosures, related that there are many tangible and intangible benefits that UNESCO has to offer to the Caribbean, particularly Guyana.He cited education for all and climate change issues that are very significant for the development of Guyana at this time, even as he highlighted that climate change currently is at the top of the agenda of most international fora.According to Maynard, through the conventions that Guyana has signed on to, much economic benefit could be realised in the long run.Secretary-General Hannam mirrored the comments made by his colleagues, but also revealed that as part of the support from UNESCO, media representatives as well could also benefit substantially. According to him, the very media representatives that are important to the dissemination of crucial information about the work of the entity could become eligible for training.
