‘SHOUT’ promoting environmental consciousness among youth

Amid the rising use of technology to innovatively tackle environmental issues, Recover Guyana, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, has been pushing SHOUT, a local speech competition that provides a platform for secondary school students to be part of the discussion on environmental protection, sustainability and conservation.

During an interview with the News Room on Friday, Dave Lalltoo, the founder and president of Recovery Guyana, the non-governmental organisation, said several environmental clubs were created at schools as an outcome of the competition, which has seen more schools participating since its initial launch in 2023.

“Primarily, we are aiming to get that young voice to raise awareness about environmental sustainability. SHOUT is a national competition. SHOUT is also a four-phased competition targeting all secondary schools, whether private or public, across Guyana,” Lalltoo said.

He said that among the many environmental initiatives developed in Guyana to promote sustainability, SHOUT continues to be one that kick starts meaningful conversations among young people.

“This is not just about amplifying voice, its also about amplifying the efforts because the winner of the competition gets a grant in order to execute an environmentally sustainable project within his or her school environment.

“Because it targets all secondary schools, so many young people are given the opportunity to have a voice when it comes to environmental protection and conservation. It allows schools as well to create environmental clubs, it allows the organisation to be able to spread awareness about environmental sustainability,” Lalltoo said.

He added that the team works with a number of young professionals, and these persons have received recognition for their work in sustainability. Over the course of the project’s existence, it led to the development of sustainability projects, such as a water purification system at two secondary schools in Guyana, through funding from the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI). There is also the hydrophonics garden, which was developed following the competition.

This year’s competition will culminate on June 5, on World Environment Day, during a live speech segment which will see the participants presenting on a standard environment based question. Lalltoo noted that schools are having internal competitions to decide whose speech may lead to winning the grand prize ($4 million in cash and prizes), which includes the $1 million environment enhancement grant. He said the internal competitions are an independent decision by the schools, which Recover Guyana is pleased about, as it highlights the impact SHOUT has made on the schools.