Indigenous youths making meaningful changes in communities — Sukhai

As International Day of the World’s Indigenous People was celebrated on Wednesday, Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai noted the important role Indigenous youths in the country have been playing to advocate for positive change and development within their villages and communities.
Themed “Indigenous Youth as Agents of Change for Self-determination in the Americas: Intergenerational connections,” this United Nations’(UN) Day of recognition was created to commemorate the achievements of Indigenous people and the work that is yet to be done to promote their rights.
In her message on Wednesday, Sukhai highlighted the increase of Indigenous youths holding decision-making positions, noting the Government’s continuous efforts to further support them.
“At the national level, the President of Guyana, recognising the huge power youths have as agents of change, established a National Youth Council with advisory powers to ensure that there is inclusivity, encapsulating the Indigenous youthful voice in policymaking at the highest level,” Sukhai stated.
Efforts are also being made to upskill these youths with the Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme implemented by the Amerindian Affairs Ministry supporting some 2645 Community Service Officers (CSOs) across the country.
“Through this programme, Indigenous youths are provided with valuable capacity-building opportunities through training in small-engine repairs, tractor driving and maintenance, garment construction, empowerment, and tourism and hospitality,” Sukhai stated.
With these new skills, the young people are expected to boost their villages’ agriculture production and community transportation needs.
Another Ministry-led initiative, the Hinterland Scholarship Programme, is also ensuring all hinterland students have access to education through online and national scholarships, producing a number of young professionals and advocates in Indigenous issues.
In another effort, Sukhai added that the Government remains committed to ensuring land tenure for Amerindians, with 106 titled villages in Guyana existing thus far.
“The Amerindian Land Titling Project is mandated to furthering land security for Indigenous people collectively in Guyana. The outcome of this entire process ensures absolute and indefeasible ownership of land by Amerindian villages in Guyana,” Sukhai said.
While land titling is one step towards promoting self-determination, Sukhai noted that another comes in the form of preserving inter-generational relationships among Indigenous people.
“While there exists traditional knowledge, it is absolutely [essential] that there be in place a relationship between the elderly and the youths to ensure there is transmission and ultimately preservation of Indigenous knowledge,” Sukhai said, adding that this has to be a self-driven process.