An awards ceremony for the fourth China-Guyana Friendship Youth Leadership Development Competition was held on Friday at the Chinese Embassy in Georgetown.
The competition is a collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, which aims to create and celebrate well-rounded students and is open to all schools in all 10 regions. It is focussed on four main areas: 1) an oral presentation, 2) a critique of an art piece, 3) a physical fitness challenge; 4) and a community-based project. Eight students from each region were chosen with there being two winners per region.
First and second place winners each received US$1,000.
Head of the Ministry of Education’s Unit of Allied Arts, Nicholas Fraser, one of the attendees at the ceremony, told the students that the competition seeks to strengthen academic and art skills as well as encourage meaningful community practices.
One winner, Nitya Narine, of Tagore Memorial Secondary School, reflected on her community project where she focused on the lack of interest her fellow students displayed towards Mathematics and the struggles they face when studying the subject.
The distribution of the awards to the first and second place winners was done by Deputy Chief Education Officer, Marti DeSouza, and Chargé d’Affaires at the Chinese embassy, Huang Rui.
De Souza commended all the participants who took part in the competition and thanked their parents for their dedication and support. He referred to the competition as a “powerful” platform to foster creativity and development, adding that it symbolised the deepening of ties between Guyana and China. The DCEO thanked the Chinese embassy and Ministry of Education and expressed the hope that they would continue to build on the momentum and celebrate young minds.
Meanwhile, Huang in the closing remarks of the event, thanked the Ministry of Education and stated his appreciation for all the winners and participants of the competition, noting that the competition could not be a success without the organisers and participants.
Huang stressed the importance of leadership, and the hope that all the participants could become leaders who would promote and maintain the ties between China and Guyana. He added that he looks forward to seeing the young leaders grow in success.
