Guyana’s 50th Independence Anniversary Celebration Committee, New York, says the country’s Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has been invited to launch the New York celebration of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member-country’s jubilee celebration in mid-January.
The Committee said on Tuesday that Nagamootoo will preside over the launching ceremony and a press conference, on Jan. 16 at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center, 153-10 Jamaica Ave., Queens.
Guyana’s 50th Anniversary of Independence will be celebrated in New York from June 4 – 12.
The Committee said it is planning the celebration in collaboration with the Guyana Consulate and the Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
United States elected officials, CARICOM and international diplomats, sponsors and corporate leaders will join leaders and members of the Guyanese Diaspora at the launch ceremony in the heart of Queens, which has one of the largest Guyanese communities in the United States, the committee said.
The Committee also released its Celebration Vision, which details elaborate plans for the 11-event celebration from June 4 – 12, 2016.
Guyana’s President David Granger, Nagamootoo and other officials of the Guyana government are expected to participate in the commemoration, which will be the largest outside of Guyana, the committee said.
Nevlon Duguid, the Committee’s communications director said that “preparations are well apace.”
Emphasizing that the launch will be a harbinger to the breath-taking June 2016 celebration, Dugid said the launch will also kick-off “an amazing public relations campaign to create awareness, mobilize the Guyanese Diaspora and inspire unprecedented participation in the celebration.”
Stating that the celebration theme is “Reflect our Journey – Forging Unity and Embracing Modernity,” Duguid said the launch will focus specifically on “forging unity.”
He said that the commemorative events are being designed to illustrate the theme and will attempt to synergistically depict Guyana’s rich and diverse cultures, as well as its holistic journey from independence to contemporary society.
Duguid said the celebration will “imbue Guyanese with an indelible sense of identity, rekindle national pride and promote a future of unity and innovation.”
The celebration will include an Interfaith Prayer Service; Unity Concert; symposium; art exhibition; Day of Volunteerism; investment conference; UN reception; flag raising ceremony; cultural extravaganza; President’s Soccer Tournament and Youth Fun Day; State Dinner; and a grand finale, Mashramani (Carnival) and parade, at which Granger has been invited to address the Diaspora.
The nonpartisan, broad-based planning committee comprises 14 sub-committees and 145 members from the New York metropolitan area, Atlanta, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C, Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina and Florida.
Key leaders include Rickford Burke, chairman; Lourdeth Ferguson, secretary; Aquafie Munroe, treasurer and Rovin Rozario, general counsel.
