The Janus Cultural Policy Initiative will be hosting its three-day ‘Conversations on Citizenship’ from tomorrow to Saturday at the Umana Yana.
According to a press release, the group believes that many of Guyana’s social and subsequent developmental problems can be solved culturally, including issues like ethnopoliticization and the consequent lack of social cohesion.
As part of its Education and Capacity Building component the group will be facilitating “conversations” on various aspects of culture and human and social development. These sessions will help shape the JCPI’s cultural policy which it will produce by next January.
JCPI believes that the policy shaping process should be as consultative as possible and reach stakeholders and the citizenry. As such, the agenda for ‘Conversations on Citizenship’ and other similar events are shaped by pre-conversation meetings.
On August 15, the JCPI met with more than 20 representatives from various religious, ethnic and cultural organisations at the National Library’s Conference Room to create the agenda for the three-day programme. This pre-conversation meeting brought together as wide a cross-section of stakeholders as possible to shape ‘Conversations on Citizenship.’
The programme’s objective is to create a space where Guyanese from all walks of life can meet and express themselves in a free, open and honest manner. Every day, starting from tomorrow’s ‘conversation’ the focus will be on the following themes: Paths to Citizenship which deals with the legal frameworks of citizenship, from the Constitution to the Citizenship Act; “To love my fellow citizen” (Friday) which deals with issues of tolerance and inclusion and Truth and Reconciliation (Saturday) which tackles the question of race/ethnicity.
The public is invited to this free event. No dress code has been set, the group said.
JCPI was officially launched at the Theatre Guild in June. Earlier this year, the Prince Claus Fund (PCF) for Culture and Development awarded Project Lead and local writer Ruel Johnson a grant to carry out a three part action plan aimed at generating cultural solutions that have the potential to solve Guyana’s ethnopoliticization issues and consequent developmental problems.
