Emancipation 2025: Celebration highlights cultural pride, youth empowerment in Reg 6

…as Pres Ali backs Afro-Guyanese cultural revival

In demonstration of the Government’s commitment to bolstering Guyana’s rich heritage, President Irfaan Ali on Friday announced funding for two local groups so that they can continue fostering African culture, especially among young Afro-Guyanese, and empowering them.

The Head of State, along with other senior Government officials, attended a grand Emancipation 2025 celebration hosted by the Organisation for Social and Health Advancement in Guyana (OSHAG), in collaboration with the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
The event was also attended by Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, David Lammy, who was born to Guyanese parents.
Held at the New Amsterdam Secondary School (NAMS) Tarmac in New Amsterdam, Berbice, the event showcased the country’s rich African heritage through vibrant cultural displays, traditional drumming, and a variety of delicious foods.
During his address to the gathering, President Ali recognised the work of two New Amsterdam-based non-profit organisations in Region Six.
They include the Congo Nya Cultural Foundation located at Stanleytown, New Amsterdam, which operates a free drumming school for youths. According to the President, the school’s work with young people is “enormous,” and as such, he pledged GY$1 million towards the further development of the organisation.
Similarly, the Head of State commended OSHAG’s work in embracing young people. He said, “Your ambassadorial program is second to none. Your investment in young people and championing the cause of young people is most admirable.”
To this end, Ali also pledged a GY$1.5 million grant to support the organisation’s ambassadorial program.
“We honour your time, we honour your sacrifices… especially the young people who are taking forward the tradition of honouring our ancestors,” the President stated.
Only earlier on Friday, the Guyanese leader met with representatives of a number of African heritage groups at State House in Georgetown.
During that engagement, Ali emphasised his Government’s commitment to strengthening Guyana’s cultural identity, particularly through music, arts, and traditional clothing, while outlining plans to build a national framework for cultural development.
The President also pledged continued collaboration with scores of African heritage groups countrywide to empower communities and create economic opportunities rooted in cultural and historical expression.

Inheritors of ancestors’ sacrifice
Meanwhile, addressing the gathering at the Emancipation Day event in New Amsterdam, the Head of State noted that the sacrifices made by African ancestors have laid the foundation for Guyana’s development and the prosperity of all its people.
“Our ancestors went through it. The sacrifice of the African ancestors is part of my journey and every Guyanese’s journey because they give us this freedom. No one can tell me that I am not an inheritor of their sacrifice because every Guyanese is an inheritor of their sacrifice, their pains, and their joys,” he noted.
With the promise of building a One Guyana society and a flourishing economy, Ali assured residents of Region Six of unprecedented development that is coming their way.
“Here in Region Six, you will have a future that you cannot even imagine. A future that is going to be boundless in opportunities. A future in which every single Berbician will rise in prosperity… The future of this region is unimaginable. You cannot imagine what lies ahead of you,” he stated.
From the highest quality of education, healthcare, and utility services and infrastructure to support for entrepreneurs to housing incentives and thriving communities – the President outlined that these are all things that are synonymous with what the ancestors fought for so they can live in honour, dignity, and pride.
“In your lives, their dreams would be lived. In your lives, their sacrifice ought to be honoured. In your lives, their selfless sacrifice will be celebrated. And in your lives, the ultimate price for freedom, honour, and dignity of human will live on forever because you and we are the inheritors of their work, their sacrifices, and their bondage,” the Guyanese leader declared.

Proud of Guyanese heritage
Also delivering brief remarks was the British Foreign Secretary, who emphasised the importance he places on his African Guyanese heritage. Disclosing that his parents hail from West Coast Berbice in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), Lammy noted that his maternal grandmother is buried in New Amsterdam, making his presence there even more special on an occasion like Emancipation Day.
“My name is made up of Semples, Johnsons, Grants, Haynes, and Allens, and they stem largely from the great West Coast Berbice [village] of Hopetown… To think of how beautiful this country is when you see the many peoples that make it up, and how ‘One Guyana’ really has to mean something, particularly at this point in history. I want you to know that when I am standing up in the UK, I am standing up proud because of people in this place, this country that forged and made me who I am today,” the UK Foreign Secretary stated.