Presenters for Carifesta 72 were self-selected

Dear Editor,
The organisers of the 3-day international symposium to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Carifesta 72 are saddened by the thrust of Mr. Lloyd Sharma’s letter of July 19, 2022, titled “Indo-Guyanese academics, performers have been excluded from Guyana Folk Festival’s celebration of 50th anniversary of Carifesta.”
The presenters in the symposium are self-selected. That is: they all responded to a public and multilingual call issued on May 3, 2022 for papers and participation. That call was circulated internationally to many academic and non-academic associations that Guyanese, Caribbean, and other international academics participate in professionally.
On May 8, 2022, the call was made in an article, “Virtual symposium examines Carifesta at 50 – call made for papers and participation.” The call for papers and participation closed on June 1, 2022.
The presenters in the three-day symposium, “Inaugural Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) as Prism: 20th Century Festivals in the Multilingual Caribbean”, bring many perspectives to examination of one of the seminal moments in the history of the post-colonial Caribbean.
The symposium would be the first space to bring together artists, scholars, and participants to remember and analyse Carifesta ‘72. It aims to be the beginning of ongoing conversations about the possibilities, achievements and mis-steps of Carifesta ’72, as well as articulating visions for the role of culture in the creation of just and caring societies.
The three-day international symposium commemorating the 50th anniversary of Carifesta ’72 is one of the signature events of the 2022 season of the Guyana Folk Festival.
The Guyana Folk Festival has been organised by the Guyana Cultural Association of New York for the past 22 years.

Sincerely,
Vibert Cambridge,
AA, PhD