Dear Editor,
I write in relation to the Universal Peace Federation’s Musical Festival of Peace and Ice Breaking Ceremony, which was held on Saturday, September, 24 at City Hall in Georgetown. The Federation is deeply disappointed, especially with the print media (Chronicle, Stabroek, Kaieteur and Guyana Times) for not being on board with this event although multiple press releases and articles as well as information was sent to all media houses in Guyana.
This was the first time in Guyana and the Caribbean the historic Ice Breaking Ceremony was held here. It was our hope that this event could have been used to impact the country, fostering two further stages of the formula to create dialogue between our two political power houses. Surprisingly, no media carried any coverage. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo was in attendance along with Mayor Patricia Ann Chase-Green, Former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Bishop Juan Edghill, MP who represented the opposition.
It was observed that on September 25, the Guyana Chronicle published an entirely different message of the event giving it a lukewarm feeling. This article didn’t effectively dramatize the event but instead seemed to highlight just part of what the Prime Minister and the other officials said. The Ice Breaking Ceremony was not even mentioned. Also, the front page of all of Guyana’s newspapers carried a picture of a man who swam across the Demerara River, and while this is good, the Federation would like all media houses to know the true value of covering its events. Nothing was carried by four newspapers. We should not only expose bad news but also good news. The UPF in its partnership with the media can help our country heal and put our country into a phase of glory.
As usual, I am willing to meet with any member of the media to discuss these events, to set up an interview or to have a serious conversation pertaining to the importance of the UPF and its agenda in Guyana and the world.
Yours faithfully,
Roshan Khan
