Engagement between Guyana and the diaspora could be strengthened in the areas of education, finance and the arts as the University of Guyana (UG) aims to establish a centre for Regional Diaspora Engagement here.

Building on its conference, Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Ivelaw Griffith said “We plan also to launch a Centre for Regional Diaspora Engagement that can take the work started here, forward”.

He made the disclosure at the opening of UG’s inaugural Diaspora Engagement Conference, which opened at the Princess Ramada Hotel.

The conference runs until Friday.

More than 243 participants from 12 countries are expected to contribute, both in terms of policy and finances.

But to facilitate a routine meeting of the Conference, the Vice Chancellor said that the institution will be looking to establish the Centre.

He noted that once established, it would host a conference that will bring Guyanese and the diaspora to their homeland to have engagements every two years.

Professor Griffith further stated that one of the objectives of that Centre would be to find a way to establish and manage a talent database.

He explained that the database will contain information about who in the diaspora has what interest or skill, who wants to contribute, and will provide facilitation of those contributions.

“We plan not only to say we’re interested in diaspora, we plan to demonstrate by having a work programme that takes this conference into the future going from strength to strength” he added.

Meanwhile, President David Granger while addressing the gathering, underscored the role of the institution in Guyana’s development.

The President was keen to note that presently, the country is deficient in the physical infrastructure essential for economic development. These infrastructure, he spoke of, include aerodromes, bridges, highways, housing, deep-water ports and stellings.

Further he said that Guyana’s coastal and riverine defenses, conservancies, and draining and irrigation systems must be repaired and maintained consistently in order to protect human habitation from the effects of climate change.

In light of these existing circumstances, the President noted that, “UG is central to fulfilling the scientific and technological objectives which the green state requires.”

Elaborating on this, he explained that the institution must drive the intellectual processes and bring development by becoming the incubator of technology and the nurturer of skills and talent.

He said that the institution must establish institutions to educate students to advance the green state development such as the biodiversity centre, while attracting more students in the areas of: zoology, biology, engineering, technology, geology and agriculture.

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