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Gov’t honours Sydney Allicock as ‘hero’
Sydney Allicock, a visionary Amerindian leader, was last evening honoured by the government for winning the distinguished Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence 2010.
The awards are hailed as the “Nobel of the Caribbean.” Allicock was selected as the Public & Civic Contributions 2010 Laureate.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds presents a plaque honouring Sydney Allicock for winning the Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence.
At a reception held at Herdmanston Lodge in Georgetown, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, said that too often Guyana’s “heroes” go unnoticed, and his Ministry did not want this to happen to Allicock.
The goal of the Ansa Caribbean Awards for Excellence is to recognize significant Caribbean achievement, to encourage and to support the pursuit of excellence by Caribbean persons, for the benefit of the region.
The other laureates honoured with the award this year are Adrian Augier (Arts and Letters) and Professor Kathleen Coard (Science and Technology).
Each laureate will receive the Ansa Caribbean Awards for Excellence Medal and a citation to recognise and commend their achievements, and TT$500,000 ($16.5 million) to support their work and professional development.
Allicock, 55, is from the North Rupununi, Region Nine, and is widely accepted as a pioneer of community-based tourism in Guyana as a development method and has worked in partnership with others for the development of the North Rupununi.
Last evening, speaking in his native Macushi language, he said there is “strength in unity” as he accepted the recognition he received.
He called his recognition “a great beginning” saying “while there is life we should enjoy it and leave a better trail for others to follow.”
Allicock pointed out that while Guyana is a land of many peoples it is still “One People, One Nation, One Destiny,” bearing out the country’s national motto.
Minister Persaud called Allicock “a shining example” of someone who recognised the need to enhance and expand development while recognizing the need for partnership.
Major General (retired) Joseph Singh, who sits on the regional panel which selects the laureates said Allicock was selected unanimously.
Allicock’s name was put up by a national coordinating committee, and he competed for the award with ten other nominees from Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica and countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
Allicock led the Surama community in implementing a sustainable tourism project that has been copied by other Amerindian communities in Guyana and is considered a model for development of the country’s interior.
He serves as the Executive Director of Surama Eco-Tourism, an initiative which employs 70 members of the Surama community as hospitality staff, guides, cooks, artisans, and drivers, or indirectly as farmers, hunters, fishermen, tailors, and maintenance workers.
Approximately 60 per cent of the community’s income is now generated through sustainable tourism-related activities, and 75 per cent of Surama’s households derive income from tourism.
Allicock has articulated and promoted a vision of indigenous rural community development based on communal effort, wise use of natural resources, traditional knowledge and social systems, and equitable partnership with outside agencies.
He has been a key figure in the development over the past two decades of the village of Surama, the North Rupununi region more widely, and Guyana’s indigenous communities, which account for nearly a tenth of the country’s population.
Allicock will officially be conferred with the award at a gala ceremony in Trinidad on April 17, 2010.
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