Three organisations have come together to hold a youth conference which will see participants from Guyana and other countries being exposed to what has been described as a creative learning experience in the promotion of a violence free environment.
The organizers – Irene Madray Recreational Arts and Resources Centre (IMRAC), Rights of the Child (ROC) and the Caribbean American Domestic Violence Awareness (CADVA) group – have said that the August 13 conference to be convened at the Pegasus Hotel will be dedicated to the memory of 16-year-old Neesa Lalita Gopaul, who was brutally murdered in 2010.
The conference, which will be chaired by educator and journalist Anand Boodram, is being held under the theme; ‘International Youth Conference Against the Contagion of Violence 2010: Reshaping and Mobilising our Youths from Intervention to Prevention.’
In an interview with the Sunday Stabroek one of organisers of the conference, Dianne Madray, said that there is need for the community at large to recognize that violence, such as child abuse, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, gang violence and suicide, are “major public health problems.”
She said that conference is designed to engage youths from Guyana, Canada, US, Trinidad and the UK, to work together to educate each other to reduce the violence around them by promoting the findings of their own research projects on both the protective and risk factors for violence, and encouraging evidence-based efforts.
Madray revealed that presentations of findings would be made by members of IMRAC, ROC and Dream Catchers from the US during the morning session of the conference.
The youths will be making presentations as “young research scientists” on topics such as harassment and sexual bullying, sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence and race, including racial tolerance.
“This conference aims to facilitate dialogues and exchange amongst our youths by creating, reaching out, standing out, and making a difference in their communities. This will be their moment and their time to ‘Break the Silence’ and begin to advocate and act as change agents creating the change with their voice,” Madray told this newspaper. She said it is time for us all to listen.
The afternoon session, which will be moderated by psychologist Dr Faith Harding, will be focusing on “redefining the lessons our parents taught us,” and will consist of a dialogue and exchange session with several experts focusing on “socialization and normative behaviour.”
Asked if the organisations have plans to convene any follow-up to ascertain the effectiveness of the conference, Madray noted that as part of the overall goal of CADVA they will begin to partner with a multi-disciplinary team of experts in the field to explore funding options for gathering information in order to design and develop appropriate research studies to reduce the contagion of violence.
Additionally, she said that CADVA will work towards assessing the root causes and develop a programme plan for continued intervention and prevention.
“As a conclusion to the conference, we will survey all the youths in attendance and obtain their feedback by gathering information on their needs to assess the success of this conference,” she revealed.
In relation to the selection of the participants, Madray said the youths were assessed for motivation and skills as change agents and future leaders.
“Youths… were selected from various regions around Guyana to provide them with a day of creative education from their own peers and provide them with the necessary tools that they will take with them at the end of the day and share with their community,” she said.
US Ambassador Brent Hardt is slated to declare the conference open and the organisers are encouraging parents, social workers , community leaders and educators to come out and hear the “words, wisdom, vision and hope for our youths.”
“This is beginning a conversation to effect change and secure the development of our youths. Listen to their voices so they can also be the change agents for Guyana’s youth development,” the organisers said in a release.
CADVA is also planning two other breakout sessions; the first would be at the Imam Bacchus Library in Affiance Village, Essequibo Coast hosted by Imam Baksh on August 15, from 12-3pm. The second session will be at the Tagore High School in No 64 Village from 2pm to 5pm on August 16 hosted by Christopher Hamid.
CADVA is a US based non-profit organization focusing on advocacy against domestic violence by grass roots community efforts, partnering and involvement.
IMRARC is a NGO registered in Guyana which listed its purpose as providing a positive contribution to community development through educational and recreational centres.
ROC was established under the Human Rights Commission, and comprises young people from high schools and universities in Guyana. ROC has worked for two years on children’s rights activities, and the core group formed themselves into ROC in November 1999.
