Find Civil Society expertise in Guyana

Various international NGOs work closely to help Guyana’s development as a country focusing on protecting the environment, preparation for natural disasters, education and health awareness. The country has around 25 trade unions which operate in an array of sectors.

The education sector has dynamic NGOs such as VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) which works closely with the Ministry of Education, the Guyana Teachers’ Union and other civil society education stakeholders. VSO conducted research and published its report Making Teachers Count in 2004, which led to the formation of a new national education advocacy coalition consisting of YWCA, UNICEF, the Adult Education Association, Youth Challenge Guyana, and Every Child.

The Ministry of Health is working with a number of local and international NGO partners to stem the spread of, and raise awareness about, HIV/AIDS. Such partners include the Canadian Society for International Health, Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center and the Guyana Safer Injection Project.

NGOs have also been active in developing activities for sustainable development and conservation. The Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development manages the nearly one million acre Iwokrama Forest in central Guyana. The Centre was formed as a result of proposals made at the 1989 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The aim of the Centre is to show how tropical forests can be conserved and sustainably used to provide ecological, social and economic benefits to local, national and international stakeholders. In addition to these are other international NGOs such as Oxfam and Conservation International who run a variety of projects including disaster preparation, food security, environmental preservation and improving biodiversity.

The Guyana Trade Union Congress is the country’s national trade union centre and is associated with the International Trade Union Confederation. All workers have trade union rights, apart from those in the police force. Various trade union movements were established throughout the early 1900s to protect employees in the public sector, and sugar and mining industries.

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