Ethnic Relations Commission to launch film festival
Guyana Chronicle
August 11, 2004
IN ITS efforts to promote ethnic harmony and reduce conflict in the Guyanese society, the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) will be launching a film festival which will introduce audiences to strategies used to deal with ethnic conflicts elsewhere.
ERC Chairman, Bishop Juan Edghill announced at a press conference yesterday that the festival will be held August 16-28 and there will be a special pre-screening for the media at the Embassy Court, Georgetown.
He said the screening of the films will be followed by discussions with the hope that Guyanese will propose ways to amicably resolve past injustices.
“These objectives are expected to be achieved through the process of in-depth discussions after each viewing. The feelings, themes and opinions coming out of these discussions across Guyana will be carefully recorded and analysed”, Edghill said.
“This speaks to the process of consultation and recommendation to the National Assembly. The festival is also an information gathering exercise. Information gathered will be used to inform policy in ethnic relations in Guyana, “ he explained.
He added that the films would foster discussions across Guyana on the needs, feelings and fears of various ethnic relations in Guyana.
The project is expected to also contribute to the long-term resolution of ethnic conflicts that plague the Guyanese society, he offered.
He added that this would be achieved by giving Guyanese at a national level the opportunity to confront their differences and act constructively towards understanding these differences and acting on their commonalities.
According to Edghill, the festival also supports the ERC’s responsibility in accordance with Section 12 (s) and (u) of the Constitutional Amendment Act of 2000, to make recommendations to the National Assembly on any issue relating to ethnic affairs, including conducting studies to determine whether ethnic relations are improving.
As regards the complaint to the ERC by the Indian Arrival Committee (IAC) which charges Dr. Kean Gibson’s book “The Cycle of Racial Oppression in Guyana” is a source of ethnic tensions, he said that public hearing on the matter has concluded and it is now for the commission to determine whether the charges are justified.
The festival is a collaborative effort between the ERC and the Multi-Donor Social Cohesion Programme administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The films that will be screened are productions of the Search for Common Ground organisation, a non-profit grouping whose mission is to transform the way the world deals with conflicts - away from adversarial approaches towards cooperative solutions.