Guyana benefits from a new master’s degree program that uses the world and the communities of Guyana as its campus.
On March 12 from 5 to 8:30 p.m., Borough President Helen Marshall, in collaboration with the Guyanese and American Business and Professionals Council (GABPC) and the Future Generations Graduate School, will host a public networking event to support this new educational opportunity.
Seven Guyanese students will share their experiences in the accredited program, including highlights of their recent studies in India.
This Guyanese group of seven joins a global class of 20 students from 10 countries that will visit India, the United States, Peru and Nepal as part of their two-year course of study. Students bring these experiences back to Guyana, where they continue their online coursework and complete a hands-on research practicum to benefit their communities.
The professional degree program aims to strengthen community development leaders while allowing them to keep their current jobs and continue their work in communities. Students pursue their coursework online and face-to-face each term through one-month field residential. Courses include health, sustainable development, management and governance, conflict transformation, and nature conservation.
Students are currently in India taking part in the Term I residential, which begins with a focus on social change at Gandhi’s study center in Sevagram and includes an immersion in issues of community health at the world renowned Jamkhed Comprehensive Rural Health Project. They will stay in New York for several days upon their return from India next month.
The students will be hosted at a networking/reception event open to the public on March 12 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at Borough Hall, 120-55 Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens, NY.
“As part of our efforts to promote links between U.S. organizations and Guyana, we are partnering with the Future Generations Graduate School to support the Guyana Community Scholars Initiative and raise awareness and support for these Guyanese community leaders," said GABPC executive director Shanie Persaud.
For more information on the event visit the GABPC and Future Generations web sites at www.gabpc.org or www.futuregradschool.org, or contact Shanie Persaud at 718- 301-6272/347-612-6216/shaniep@gabpc.org.
