QC student emerges victorious as this year’s youth environmental speaker

Recover Guyana in collaborating with ExxonMobil Guyana in observance of World Environment Day kickstarted their annual SHOUT competition at the Georgetown Ramada Princess Hotel. This event saw several secondary schools from across Guyana engaging in dialogue about various environmental issues.
Delivering remarks at the event, Public and Government Affairs Manager at ExxonMobil Guyana, Matthew Scharf, highlighted that the SHOUT initiative aligned with Exxon’s two main community investment focus areas, emphasising the company’s commitment towards responsibly developing the country’s resources and managing environmental impacts.

“I am very pleased that ExxonMobil Guyana is able to support the important work that Recover Guyana is doing with the SHOUT competition. This work aligns with two of our most important community investment focus areas – first, supporting youth and their communities and second, environmental sustainability,” he stated.
He further noted that as an oil and gas company, ExxonMobil is committed to environmental sustainability.

“I hope that ExxonMobil has been able to offer valuable perspective along the way that as an oil and gas company, we can still be committed to environmental sustainability. Our commitment is to responsibly develop Guyana’s resources and responsibly manage environmental impacts; we can and we are doing both, we do this not only through our operations, but also through collaborations with organisations like Recover Guyana, so we can make a positive impact in communities,” he said.

The 2024 competition, which was held in observance of World Environment Day, saw the top 10 out of 30 schools securing their spots in this year’s qualifier delivering live speeches on various environmental issues.
Queen’s College emerged victorious for a second consecutive year as Gabriella Arjun secured Guyana’s 2024 Youth Environmental Speaker title.

Close contenders included Samarah Nazamodeen of President’s College, who secured second place, and Tramaine Clarke of Marian Academy, who earned third place. Queen’s College received a cash grant of $500,000 to kickstart its Environment Enhancement Project. Other winners received $3 million in cash and prizes. SHOUT aims to involve more young people in environmental action, encourage dialogue, and initiate improvements in school environments, and is supported by ExxonMobil Guyana among other companies.