The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) today convened a landmark National Symposium,  “Guyana at 60: Unity, Diversity and the Path Forward,” at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre,  bringing together leaders from the Government, the Parliamentary Opposition, the Diplomatic  Corps, private sector, academia, civil society, faith communities, and youth to reflect on six  decades of independence and to chart a course towards greater unity.

The Symposium was designed to combine high-level dialogue with broad participatory  engagement. The day’s proceedings were anchored in the Commission’s constitutional mandate to promote ethnic harmony and good relations, to eliminate discrimination, and to foster a culture  of tolerance, mutual respect, and a shared national identity.

The official opening ceremony featured multi-faith invocations from the Christian, Islamic, and  Hindu faiths, reflecting the nation’s spiritual diversity. In his opening remarks, the ERC Chairman Shaikh Moeenul Hack reminded the gathering that national unity is not a monument built once,  but a garden that must be tended in every generation.