A coffee table book was recently launched to raise funds for the University of Guyana (UG) Endowment Fund.
The book, titled “Heartbeat of a Nation,” was unveiled last week Friday at the Georgetown Club.
Dr. Paloma Mohamed, Chair of the UG 50th Anniversary planning committee, dubbed the book a labour of love as she explained that it has been in development for a long time.
The University of Guyana has significantly contributed to the country and should not go unnoticed, she emphasised. “We looked at all the other publications at the other anniversaries and tried to build on that. We had to be innovative and we came up with a pictorial of the University of Guyana,” Mohamed explained as she boldly stated that if a picture says a thousand words, then the book says millions.
Mohamed was hopeful that the book would shed positive light on the university, thereby countering some of the negative impressions in the public.
UG Vice-Chancellor Jacob Opadeyi noted that in recent years the university would have gone through “high and low blood pressure” but declared that it is now ready to rise.
He called the project the most significant one done for the 50th anniversary as he observed that it will last forever. He further encouraged everyone to buy a copy and hoped that there will be copies at the international airport, where everyone can see the pride of the nation.
Also addressing the launch, Al Creighton, lecturer in the Education and Humanities Faculty, said the book is not just information on pages but it documents important points in the university’s history and he was confident that it will promote the university and will be a stimulus for funding.
“The title is a metaphor and contains the economy of language and tells about the place and role of the University in Guyana,” Creighton further stated.
Funds raised from sales of the book are to be channeled towards the renovation and improvement of the University of Guyana’s Library, among other projects.
