Winners of “I Love Beautiful Guyana” art competition awarded

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme “I Love Beautiful Guyana” art competition culminated on Thursday with an award ceremony for outstanding artists, whose creative drawings depicted Guyana’s unique natural beauty and emphasised the need for the preservation of the eco-system.
UNV Programme Officer Michiru Ito, the brainchild of the competition, said the organisation received overwhelming support, with more than 50 persons vying to compete in the five categories established: primary school pupils, secondary school students, children with disabilities, adults and seniors.
Using new media, the drawings were posted on the organisation’s website and the world decided on the most outstanding artistic pieces that captivated Guyana’s astonishing beauty.
In the end, little Meighan Scott, a primary school pupil, was crowned the winner of the primary school category. Nicolas Adrian, Walton Williams, Sabrina Mohamed and Stanley Ming were deemed winners of the secondary school, disabled, adult and senior categories, respectively.
They were rewarded with trophies and cash for their outstanding performance and contribution towards the promotion and development of Guyana. The artistic pieces will be used to create post cards.
“Guyana is very, very rich in history, culture, natural resources and diversity,” Ito said, noting that the pictures crafted did not fail to capture these rich qualities. The competition secured the support of Scotiabank, Fogarty’s and Giftland Office Max, among others.
According to the programme officer, the “I Love Beautiful Guyana” competition was designed with two objectives in mind.
“One is to provide opportunity for Guyanese nationals, Guyanese people to reflect on the view of this beautiful country and foster appreciation for Guyana natural beauty, not only in the country, but across the globe,” Ito said.
She stated that the second objective is to raise funds for the staging of activities held on International Volunteer Day in December. She said while the UNV has been receiving support from entities such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the past, the UNV was forced to cancel some activities due to the shortage of funds.
Scotiabank Marketing Manager Jennifer Cipriani-Nelson said the sale of the post cards “will signify the beginning of a new phase in the promotion of Guyana’s natural beauty and the need for the preservation of the environment”.
Nelson said Scotiabank’s support of the initiative is not new as the bank has undertaken a number of initiatives globally. She pointed to the establishment of the global HIV/AIDS strategy to fight the spread of the disease and the associated stigma and discrimination.
Government officials present at the award ceremony applauded the UNV for the step taken to depict Guyana’s splendid flora, fauna and other natural beauty.