The establishment of a Second International Decade for People of African Descent to fully right the wrongs of slavery and colonialism was one of the sentiments expressed yesterday by Minister of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond.
She was reiterating Guyana’s and the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) call for a second Decade during her address at a high-level event in New York, marking the closure of the first Decade.
A release from the Department of Public Information (DPI) yesterday stated that Walrond, speaking on behalf of the Government of Guyana and CARICOM, emphasis-ed that the proclamation of the International Decade for People of African Descent in 2014 and the subsequent adoption of a comprehensive programme of activities, resulted in increased global awareness of the contributions and challenges faced by People of African Descent. This, she noted, served as a basis for the crafting of initiatives geared towards the preservation of their cultural heritage and education to mitigate the pervasive systemic racism entrenched in the legacies of slavery and colonialism.