Guyanese among 36 young professionals building leadership skills in India

A Guyanese media and communications expert, Jainarine Deonauth, is among 36 young professionals from developing countries around the world who are currently participating in the International Management Development Programme on Effective Decision-making and Leadership in New Delhi, India. The course is being hosted by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) and sponsored by the Indian Government through its flagship Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. It will run from September 22 to October 5. The management development programme is designed specifically for mid to senior level managers seeking to strengthen their leadership effectiveness in increasingly complex and dynamic organisational environments. The programme aims to enhance participants’ analytical capabilities, strategic thinking and problem-solving acumen by equipping them with structured frameworks, evidence-based tools and practical methodologies for informed decision-making.

Through a blend of expert sessions, case studies, simulations, and interactive discussions, the programme enables participants to critically evaluate information, manage uncertainty, balance competing priorities and make timely and sound decisions. By fostering both cognitive and behavioural competencies, the programme prepares managers to navigate organisational challenges, lead teams more effectively and contribute to improved governance, performance and long-term institutional resilience. Deonauth, who currently serves as Communications Director at the University of Guyana (UG), expressed his appreciation to the Government of India for providing the opportunity to participants to pursue the course, noting that it will help to upgrade their professional skills and build institutional capacity. Eric Oppong Amankwah, a participant from Ghana, said that India has proven to be a leader amongst developing countries in various areas of development and expressed that the Government of India should be commended for their generosity and willingness to share their expertise to the benefit of other countries. The ITEC programme is a premier bilateral capacity-building platform run by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Instituted in September 1964, ITEC is a demand-driven, response-oriented programme that shares India’s developmental expertise and technological achievements with partner nations across Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and the Pacific. Over the years, thousands of young professionals from around the world, including hundreds of Guyanese, have benefitted from the ITEC programme. ITEC resources have also been used for cooperation programmes conceived in regional and inter-regional context such as Economic Commission for Africa, Commonwealth Secretariat, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Group of 77 and G-15. In more recent years, its activities have also been associated with regional and multilateral organisations and cooperation groupings like Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC), African Union (AU), Afro-Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO), Pan African Parliament, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Indian Ocean Rim – Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) and India-Africa Forum Summit.

The ITEC programme has evolved and grown tremendously over the years. Under ITEC and its sister programme, the Special Commonwealth African Assistance Programme (SCAAP), 161 countries in Asia, Africa, East Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean (LAC) as well as Pacific and Small Island countries are invited to share in the Indian developmental experience acquired over six decades of India’s existence as a free nation. As a result of different activities under this programme, there is now a visible and growing awareness among other countries about the competence of India as a provider of technical know-how and expertise as well as training opportunities, consultancy services and feasibility studies.