Ethnic relations body hosting conflict-healing film festival
Stabroek News
August 13, 2004
The Ethnic Relations Com-mission (ERC) is hosting a film festival countrywide from August 16-28 with the aim of sensitising local audiences to a number of conflict prevention and resolution strategies which have been employed around the world in various places.
It is expected that the films which are to be featured would foster discussion at the national level while identifying constructive responses to Guyanese challenges and addressing the issue of sustainable processes for conflict transformation.
Among the films selected for the festival are "Just a Little Red Dot", "Dance Can Do All That", "Long Night's Journey into Day", and "Stranger With a Camera".
There was to be a special screening of "Stranger with a Camera" for members of the media last evening at Emba-Sea Courtyard, Pere Street, Kitty.
The commissioners of the ERC are said to be upbeat about this film festival which they are promoting in partnership with the Social Cohesion Programme run by the UNDP and Search for Common Ground, a conflict prevention and conflict resolution NGO.
Meanwhile, the ERC is seeking facilitators to conduct discussions after the screening of the film, Chairman of the Commission, Bishop Juan Edghill said at a briefing held at the ERC office, Queenstown on Tuesday.
And these facilitators should be between the ages of 18-35 because older people are likely to have baggage which may make them somewhat biased. The organisers therefore prefer to have young people whom they can train.
In that light the ERC chairman is appealing to all civic groups to nominate as facilitators individuals who have an interest in seeing the country move forward. Interested persons can contact the commission at its office in Queenstown or call 231-6246, 231-6473, or 231-6265.
Edghill stated that at no time the ERC should appear to be operating on its own without the support of other concerned organisations.
The private sector has been invited to provide sponsorship for the festival, he said.
Sponsorship to the tune of $1.5M is required for the production of flyers, banners, advertisements and assistance with multi-media equipment.
According to the schedule announced by the ERC's logistical officer Imran Ramjohn the films would be shown in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Nine and Ten.
Ramjohn said that the show is scheduled in Region Two for August 23 at the Anna Regina Multilateral School, Charity Secondary, and Huist T'Dieren Primary School, starting at 3 pm.
In Region Three the festival will be held at West Demerara Secondary, La Retraite Primary, St John's Community High and Greenwich Park Primary on August 17 from 5:30 pm.
Region Five would have their show on August 24 from 10 am - 3 pm at Rosignol Primary, Bush Lot Secondary and Mahaicony Secondary.
In Region Six on August 22 the screening would be held from 10 am - 3 pm at Berbice High, the UG Campus at Tain and the Corriverton Civic Centre.
Region Seven would have their opportunity on August 25 at 4:30 pm at the St Anthony's and St John's Primary and the Bartica Secondary School.
Region Nine residents can view the films at St Ignatius Benab on September 6 from 10 am.
In Region Ten the films will be shown on September 19 from 4:30 pm at Wismar Secondary and Lichas School Entertainment Hall.
The organisers said they are still to decide how they would handle screening in Region Four. Search for Common Ground is an international non-profit NGO with a mission to transform the way the world deals with conflict, moving away from adversarial approaches to-ward cooperative solutions.