It has been one month since the Government’s Youth Innovation Project (YIPoG) was launched — May 22, during the Youth Week celebrations — and acting Education Minister Nicolette Henry is calling on more young Guyanese to cash in on this $50 million initiative.
This programme is aimed at channelling the innovative ideas and pioneering spirit of Guyanese youths to produce solutions to the issues and challenges of our nation’s green economy. As such, emerging changer-makers are invited to submit project proposals which align with achieving these goals while incorporating elements of science, technology, engineering, agriculture, anthropology, archeology, arts, architecture, mathematics and spirituality, better known as STEAMS.
Project Manager of YIPoG, Grace Roberts-Simon, issuing a call for heightened interest in this MoE undertaking, commended applicants who have thus far submitted their entries, and urged more young leaders to take advantage of this unique opportunity.
“We have received 26 entries, and based on initial perusing, Guyanese youth have a lot of commendable, innovative ideas about themselves and their community development, while creating employment opportunities for their peers,” Roberts-Simon pointed out.
“However, the closing date for submissions is June 30, and we believe that there are others who need to take advantage of this opportunity to bring to life their creativity and innovative ideas with support and guidance from our team,” she declared. “We believe that there are many more persons who can benefit from this opportunity, but they may have issues with their proposals’ preparation; but there is no need for that fear to be allowed to fester, because we have four mentors who are more than willing to guide you in the right direction,” she encouraged.
Minister Henry also called for increased submission of proposals, while sharing her vision of a Guyana in which the youth have access to innovative solutions to the many problems. She noted that YIPoG creates an opportunity for young minds to interact with their physical, social, and psychological environment through embracing the curiosity of an explorer.
Youth Innovation Project provides an avenue which allows young leaders to propose their impacting ideas in the form of projects to compete alongside other entries for support of the Ministry of Education. If successful, these individuals and/or groups of young enthusiasts will be charged with executing their service initiative within their communities.
Applications remain open to groups of no more than 10 members (both in and out of the school system) who wish to submit their solutions for an issue or innovative project of their choice. These entries must be made before the June 30 deadline, after which submissions would undergo two months of assessment. The winning projects will be announced during the month of September, Education Month, during which the grants will be presented to offset the overhead costs of the projects.
There are five categories within which submissions are welcome; these are: Most Relevant to Sustainable Communities; Most Creative and Innovative; Best Plan and Project Design; Best use of STEAMS; Best Presentation, in keeping with a theme ‘Aspire, Inspire to reach.’
