Georgetown, November 9, 2015: CARICOM Energy Week 2015 (CEW 2015) is being observed during the week of November 8th to 14th under the theme ‘Empowering our Sustainable Development’. The kickoff event for CEW 2015 was a Kilo Walk on Sunday November 8 which was organized by CARICOM as one of a number of Regional activities.

The Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) planned several activities locally to commemorate CEW 2015. On Monday November 9th the GEA conducted a school presentation in Region 7 (Bartica) at the Bartica Secondary School. The aim of the presentation was to bring awareness of energy issues to students and encouraging them to practice behavioral changes that will empower Guyana’s Sustainable Development. Students had an opportunity to interact with Officials of the Guyana Energy Agency and were encouraged to form ‘Energy Champion’ clubs and meet regularly to discuss the implementation of energy conservation measures in school and at home. The session closed off with a question and answer segment which saw students who gave correct answers receiving tokens. On Wednesday November 10th the GEA will conduct presentations of a similar nature in Region 3 at L’Aventure Secondary and Vreed-en-hoop Secondary in region.

• Express Your Energy: Following the preceding school presentations, ‘Express Your Energy’ will target primary school students of grades 4-6. This activity will take place in the National Park on Thursday November 12th and involve participation from students and teachers of Graham’s Hall Primary, St Ambrose Primary, West Ruimveldt Primary, North Georgetown Primary and St. Agnes Primary. Students will be engaged in energy-themed relay race games consisting of various outdoor activities. ‘Express your Energy’ is non-competitive but all students and teachers will be given a token for their participation.
• Demonstration Exercise at Courts Guyana Inc.: GEA will be partnering with Courts on Thursday November 08th at Courts’ main office, Main Street Georgetown, where a demonstration exercise will be facilitated by GEA’s Engineers. The exercise will focus on a display of ‘inverter type’ appliances sold by Courts and a hands-on demonstration will be conducted showing the savings that can occur through the use of energy efficient technologies. Slated to commence at 9:30 AM and concluding at 12:30 PM, this activity will also allow customers of Courts to interact with GEA’s Engineers to help address questions pertaining to energy efficient appliances.
• Launch of Poetry Competition: The poetry competition is organized in an effort to sensitize youth at a secondary school level on energy use, environmental issues and sustainable development and their inextricable links at the national and international levels. Targeting Secondary school students of forms 1-5, the competition also aims to promote energy awareness and encourage learning in a creative format.
• Energy Forum: In continued recognition for the need of increased involvement and edification of Guyanese youths in matters pertaining to sustainable energy, its development and importance, this year, the Forum will once again target Secondary School Students. This year students of forms 4-5 in the Town of Linden will be targeted for the forum.
• Daily Quiz and Energy Conservation Measures: Questions relating to sustainable energy commenced airing daily from Monday November 9th via radio (89.1, 94.1 and 98.1, FM) and will conclude on Friday November 13. Persons will be awarded a prize for providing correct answers. Energy conservation measures will also be publicized in the daily newspapers and via television in the form of documentary, infomercials and advertisements.

The main thrust of CEW “is to build awareness among various segments of the society across the Community about critical energy issues with a key focus on sustainable energy development at the national level”. All the activities planned by the GEA have the common goal of providing information to various sectors of the Guyanese public with the aim of having them recognize their role/contribution towards ‘Empowering Guyana’s Sustainable Development’.

Guyana’s observance of Energy Week can be traced back to the 1980s during which it was an annual feature. Promoted by enabling a week of activities that depicted various aspects of new and renewable sources of energy, the National Energy week was once again revitalized in 2008 with support from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Programme (CREDP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the CARICOM Secretariat.

The Guyana Energy Agency, in the exercise of its mandate, continues to promote energy efficiency, energy conservation and the development and utilisation of alternative sources of energy. The observance of ‘CARICOM Energy Week’ serves as an annual feature in fulfilling part of the mandate of the GEA through the dissemination of information, essential to improving public awareness on sustainable energy, conservation and overall efficiency.