Guyana SPEAKS
Just yesterday Guyana Speaks was thrilled to celebrate the artist, maker of things and living legend Stanley Greaves, who celebrated his 88th birthday on November 22.
(This is one of a series of weekly columns from Guyanese in the diaspora and others with an interest in issues related to Guyana and the Caribbean)
“Every time I come to Guyana SPEAKS, I feel like I have gone home for a few hours. You children really make this old lady happy!”
Joyce Trotman. says London based nonagenarian,
Since January 2017, on the last Sunday of every month (with the rare exception), Dr Juanita Cox and Rod Westmaas, have been pulling together audiences, from within the London Guyanese diaspora and - since going on-line - around the globe, under the Guyana SPEAKS banner.
They decided to set up Guyana SPEAKS on returning to the UK after having variously lived first in the lower Pomeroon River and latterly in Georgetown between 2012 and 2015. Their desire was to share the Guyana they discovered, and to talk about the Guyanese people they had met or learned about both home and abroad. Their formula was simple, develop a ‘Guyana focused theme’ for each month, invite 3 Guyanese (or persons of Guyanese heritage), allowing each to speak for up to 20 minutes and allow for a brief question and answer upon conclusion. The venue they hired was based in South London and run by Tafawa Ntune, a Buxtonian entrepreneur.
Flyers were created and widely circulated in venues frequented by Guyanese frequent; email lists were utilised via alumni associations and other Guyanese non-for-profit organisations in the UK.
On a very cold Sunday afternoon in 2017, four proud Guyanese took to the stage for the very first Guyana SPEAKS. Addressing the theme, ‘Guyana, Yesterday and Today’ were Community Activist Eric Huntley;
Writer, Actor, Broadcaster and Producer Marc Matthews; free-lance journalist Carinya Sharples, and retired Author and Educator Joyce Trotman. The presentations were lively, entertaining, educational and, above all, thought provoking. With an audience in excess of 100, Guyana SPEAKS got off to a positive start.
The monthly themes were predetermined for the ensuing year, several being suggested by supporters of this initiative. The topics were wide-ranging but always underpinned by the co-founders’ desire to bring the diverse Guyanese community together. With this in mind, topics relating to contemporary politics are strictly avoided. Instead the mood is ordinarily celebratory whether it be about culture, literature, photography, tourism, homegrown talent or the arts. They have been privileged to have speakers from all walks of life. Some have said that Guyana SPEAKS has been and continues to be a virtual Who’s Who within the Guyanese diaspora.
The events that have gained the highest following via their YouTube platform are: ‘A conversation with Roy Sawh’ (anti-racism campaigner and public orator), ‘Our Chinese Heritage’ (with Trev Sue-A-Quan, Laura Hall and Stanley Ming) and a video filmed and produced by Carl Browne of their in-door Christmas market aptly called the ‘Bourda Bazaar’ (2019).
To date Guyana SPEAKS has been responsible for at least 85 events, has had contributions from over 180 speakers, produced 30 YouTube videos of their presentations and drawn worldwide audiences, when livestreamed, in excess of 12,000.
The aforementioned Bourda Bazaar, has become a fixture within the London Guyanese calendar. Held each December at a South London location it has allowed vendors to sell Guyanese products to holiday shoppers and above all to create some end of the year cheer. Food, rum, Kwekwe singing, drumming, fundraising, raffles and other cultural activities are all a part of the event.
In addition to their monthly forums Guyana SPEAKS has begun to capture and preserve the voices of Guyanese in the UK and beyond. They have spoken to many elders within the community, recording reflections on their careers, family and memories of Guyana. Speaking to Stock Brokers, Property Investors, Nurses, Teachers, Entertainers, Housewives and Publishers has served to highlight how much the Guyanese diaspora have contributed to the world around them. They intend to turn these interviews into podcasts and make them available in the future.
In 2018, after just 2 years in existence, they were presented with a Guyana High Commission UK Award of Excellence for service to the Guyanese community. Their goal to bring together the Guyanese community, build a sense of identity and knowledge sharing, had been recognised. Guyana SPEAKS continues to fill an important need in the community and use their social media to advertise their events. You can find out about their events on Facebook, Twitter (@JCWestmaas) or YouTube (@GuyanaSPEAKS). And if you have any suggestions for future events, contact them at guyanaspeaks@gmail.com