Younger diaspora being targeted to take up opportunities in Guyana

In attracting the Guyanese diaspora community to return and grasp the slew of imminent opportunities within the country, Government is targeting second and third generations from these families abroad.
Foreign Secretary at the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry, Robert Persaud disclosed that Government is partnering with the International Organisation for Migration to target this younger population and fill the demands in several sectors.

“One project that we’re working on the IOM, which is a very innovative project, is to target young people meaning the second and third generation living in the diaspora for them to come back, to serve, volunteer; work with both the Government; Private Sector, civil society, NGOs and groups that are in need of special care, attention and support,” Persaud shared.
These efforts, pegged at some $38 million, are geared at ensuring that there is continued interest in development and also mobilising skill sets or capital which the diaspora can inject into the country.
“We don’t want to lose the second and third generation of Guyanese living overseas, losing interest and also missing out on the opportunities here but also to attract their skill and capital to support what is taking place.”
Consequently, the Foreign Secretary assured that these avenues for the diaspora community will not subtract from opportunities for citizens locally or prove as a disadvantage. Instead, he said they are channelling these resources to add to current operations to realise the bigger picture of transformation. Moreover, Persaud noted that this invitation does not extend to preferential access to the disadvantage of those living here.
It was emphasised, “I want to make it clear that our emphasis on the diaspora is not to the disadvantage to persons who live here, who have worked here, studied here and who have perhaps made the sacrifice of staying on. Sometimes, I think people see it as a competition. It is not. For us, it is how we can complement the progress we were making and further support the government’s vision and the developmental drive.”
Apart from diaspora engagement, Government has started to engage Guyanese missions, consulates, consul-generals and honorary consuls across the globe. This has extended to Guyanese organisations in North America and elsewhere to update on developmental projects.
“We have a point person who is dedicated in terms of dealing with the diaspora in the US, but particularly in the tri-state area. We started speaking with other groups, reaching out to Atlanta, [Washington] DC and even going across to Canada, Toronto, Ottawa and elsewhere. In the Caribbean, we started to look at how we can ramp up our activities and engagement.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted physical engagements but a virtual conference has been planned for May 27 and is aiming to attract much attention on the prospects of returning to Guyana.
“That’s a very important conference where we’ll have the President and other Government leaders, Minister of Foreign Affairs and other sector Ministers that are relevant…We have a number of agencies and Ministries where we have detected there have been interest in the diaspora so they can speak and engage groups and officials and members of the diaspora,” Persaud indicated.
An allocation of $50 million has been earmarked for the Diaspora and Remigration Unit for staffing, internships, and providing the positive information that will attract possible remigrants. Rosalinda Rasul was recently recruited to spearhead this department and is backed by Leroy Adolphus.