Students, instead of soldiers, will raise flag on Independence Day

Guyana will be celebrating 53 years as an Independent nation on May 26, and the Ministry of Social Cohesion has announced that children will be used for the traditional flag raising ceremony, instead of members of the armed forces.

This year’s annual independence flag raising ceremony is expected to set the tone for future celebrations, with the inclusion of 5000 school-aged children from across the country coming together on May 26 at Durban Park.

Director for Culture Tamika Boatswain Thursday said that the youth engagement in national activities is to develop a sense of national and patriotic heritage; the students, instead of soldiers, will be used to raise the flag on Independence Day.

The Director said, “The Independence Flag raising this year is expected to take the form of what has been dubbed the Youth Rally and you would see a total of 5000 students participating in mainly four areas, the cultural performance, the dance performance, we have kata performance, a parade and the choir participating event.”

The 5000 students will be divided across these categories.

The Coordinator for the Independence celebrations, Andrew Tyndall, said preparations and training for this national event have already begun across the different regions. The event is expected to start at 10:00 am on Independence Day.

“It’s the first time we are working with so many children from across the various regions, that preparation I must say has begun, the persons involved in the choir programme we’ve had training for the teachers and training of students in the regions that would have already begun,” the Coordinator said.

The Ministry of Education will also implement programmes in schools to highlight and educate school-aged children on Guyana’s Independence.

Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr George Norton said the very capable planning team will work on delivering an improved and much more organized event.

“We have a number of very intriguing activities planned, these include the Guyana Film Festival, an evening of national songs, poetries and stories, our annual Independence Art and Craft market we hope to host in regions one, four and six,” Minister Norton said.