The Institute has an outstanding track Record. We have established good relations with the White House and other government Departments in the United States. Our leadership has been participating in White House and US Congressional Briefings on the region and has held formal consultations with the State Department and International organizations.
The Institute has emerged as a major center for consultation on Caribbean Affairs and is a resource base for adept analysis on US regional policy. Several media and US and Canadian goverment agencies as well as Washington DC organizations and think-tanks, such as the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, use the Institute as a research base.
CGID is involved democratic projects in Guyana, where there is a despotic, ethnocracy, that practices oppressive racism, as well as in Haiti. These projects are geared towards strengthening democracy in these countries.
The hallmark for the Institute’s accomplishments is the establishment of the distinguished “Democracy Prize.” The Democracy Prize (The Prize) is an illustrious award that was founded by CGID in 2003, in recognition of the vitality of democracy and its fundamental importance to the well-being of the people of the Caribbean region, as well as to the development of the nations of the region.
The Prize was especially established to honor and celebrate the remarkable or incomparable contribution of Caribbean or Guyanese nationals, or others, to the development of a nation and the Caribbean Region. Its conferment is a perfunctory symbol of the practice and promotion of good governance and human freedoms (as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and social justice throughout the region.
The selection and conferment of The Prize is governed by established canons called the Protocol. This prestigious award is bestowed annually on a person or organization most deserving of the honor. The bestowment is permanent and absolute. The rights and other instruments of The Prize are exclusively owned by CGID, and the Institute is singularly responsible for its administration as well as for selecting its recipients.
This distinction has so been bestowed on Hon. Dr. Patrick Augustus Mervin Manning, M.P., Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Owen Seymour Arthur, M.P., former Prime Minister of Barbados and Dr. The Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The Institute is also poised to launch a major organ; The Council on Caribbean American Relations (COCAR). The Council will serve expressly as an educational and foreign policy think-tank. A major aspect of COCAR’s mission will be an education endowment that will award scholarships to Caribbean nationals, members of the Caribbean Diaspora or Caribbean Americans to pursue studies in Caribbean Affairs, International Relations or International Law.
CGID has excellent relations with the CARICOM Secretariat and has been an advocate for CARICOM in the US. CARICOM Secretary General, H.E. Dr. Edwin Carrington has commended the Institute for its work and H.E. Ambassador Lolita Applewaite, Deputy Secretary General of CARICOM, delivered the Keynote address our 2005 Anniversary ceremonies. Moreover, several heads of goverment, Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hon. Cynthia Pratt, New York Governor Hon. George Pataki, New York Mayor, Hon. Michael Bloomberg, The Rt. Hon. Baroness Valerie Amos, Leader of the British House of Lords, and a host of Senators and other US elected officials have all addressed various fora of the Institute.
Again, welcome. |
Welcome to the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), a New York based not for profit, non-partisan organization and think-tank. The Institute was founded in 2000. Our mission is to promote: (a) A more favorable United States foreign policy towards the Caribbean Region; (b) Democratic governance, social justice, national development and a harmonious, open society in which there is equal rights for all and where the rule of law is paramount; (c) A society where the immutable human rights of all citizens are fully respected and in which free speech, freedom of the press, religion and association, flourish as an integral facet of the national ethos; (d) The objectives of the Caribbean Community and CARICOM, as well as the strengthening of Caribbean integration; (e) The interest and empowerment of Caribbean nationals, including Guyanese, in the United States and elsewhere.