Dear Editor,
I feel compelled to add my comments about Guyana’s presentation celebrating President Irfaan Ali’s official visit to Expo 2020 in Dubai. I am among the many in Guyana and across Diaspora who are embarrassed and disappointed about the way Guyana was portrayed to the world. We expected to see a professional, entertaining and informative presentation celebrating the majestic beauty of our country, the culture and customs of its diverse population and the immense business opportunities awaiting investors. As a retired communicator, I would like to take the liberty of suggesting how I would have liked to see my beloved country portrayed on the world stage. The presentation would have begun with a beautiful video portraying Guyana in all her glory while a voiceover described the country’s location, size and world famous pristine rainforests, unique fora and fauna and abundant natural resources while highlighting its culturally diverse peoples. The video would have been designed to precede President Ali’s speech allowing him to buttress the themes of diversity and opportunity portrayed in the video.
The President’s remarks could then have been followed by a short cultural presentation celebrating the richness of country’s Indigenous Peoples as well as its multicultural and multireligious society. The presentation could have ended with the performers inviting the President onstage to present him with a garland of flowers. This would have given him a moment to thank the government of Dubai for their generous hospitality and exhort them to journey to Guyana -our El Dorado- to invest in the many business opportunities that beckon. Such a format would have been an entertaining and
logical climax to the presentation.
Instead, we had an inept, unprofessional and technically flawed production resulting in an overall presentation that was largely unfocussed, incoherent and serving little purpose. Whoever was responsible for this debacle should be immediately relieved of their duties. We cannot afford such incompetence that brings the country into disrepute and causes national embarrassment. I urge the government to take a firm hold of national communications and information dissemination. May I suggest the government start by establishing a national broadcasting and communications authority to inform, educate, entertain and communicate with all of its citizens. This will go a long way in fostering a more skilled group of journalists and allow talented young artists to flourish. It will also allow the government to deliver its own narrative to the WHOLE country rather than relying on countless fragmented programs of dubious quality. Think what this can do to foster national unity!!
Sincerely,
Ricardo Smith
Former GM Guyana Graphic
