These young ladies did not rely solely on their good looks and delectable figures to win them recognition, but were intelligent enough to augment their excellent breeding and education with a grasp of the global environment, a sound knowledge of their nation’s socio-political history and an understanding of current issues. The amazing aspect of the era of Shakira et al is the fact that there was no explosion of information and knowledge that characterises the present age. Today, in almost every household there is at least one television set. There are computers in many homes and most schoolchildren know how to access the Internet with its limitless reservoirs of information on every conceivable subject. While there is an abundance of inane and shallow television sitcoms that contribute little to the development of the young mind, there are also excellent programmes produced by the BBC, the Discovery Channel, TLC (The Learning Channel) and the History Channel.

That is why in this information age it is difficult to believe that many of the 24 beautiful young ladies, who are presenting themselves as material for the Miss Universe Pageant this year could have performed so disappointingly last Tuesday night, when the intelligence segment of the Miss Guyana Universe 2003 contest was conducted at the GTV Channel 11 Studio, Homestretch Avenue. Trinidadian-born Wendy Fitzwilliam, the stunning and very articulate former Miss Universe conducted the interviews, which were witnessed by a panel of judges. The event was broadcast live and viewed by thousands of citizens, who, for the most part, could hardly believe what was unfolding before their eyes, so poorly did some of the contestants acquit themselves. One young lady clearly had no concept of what turtle conservation was all about and proffered remarks which at once discredited her choice of platform. Another beauteous maiden so mixed up her phrases that she inadvertently gave the impression that domestic violence was a legitimate pastime in this country!

It is not our intention here to “bash” the Miss Guyana Universe contestants or to discourage the pageant’s administration. Guyana is a developing nation, which needs all the positive exposure and economic investment it could have in order to pursue a process of modernisation. However, we would like to suggest that in future contest preparations, more thought ought to be given to the eligibility of prospective delegates. It is not enough for a contestant to be lovely to look at. The age of the “dumb doll” is long past. If one should recall any of the beauty pageants held over the last two decades, one would remember that most of the participants were either university undergraduates or graduate students. Some were even reading for doctoral degrees. Let us give our Guyanese beauty ambassadors a head start for the world stage.