Consulate Services

The Guyana Independence Committee, under the stewardship of the Honorary Consul General, Danny Doobay, launched the Guyana Awards Program in 2000 as part of the Guyana Independence commemorations. The Awards is the premiere event of a month-long celebration of Guyanese Heritage spanning five provinces across Canada.

The Awards program recognizes the outstanding contributions of individuals and organizations in the Guyanese Canadian community towards the achievement of excellence, promotion and development of Guyana, and the prolongation of Guyanese Heritage and Culture in Canada.

In introducing the Awards Program, Consul General Doobay said, "The Guyana Awards program makes a collective statement about Guyanese, and promotes our people and community with a positive, powerful and potent message. We are a successful people! We have a duty to provide a new generation of Canadian children of Guyanese Heritage with positive role model. Our children must feel assured that their culture and country of origin are imbued with world-class talents. Our Children must feel confident that their heritage positions them for success."

The Guyana Awards also seek to encourage Guyanese-Canadians to emulate best practices in the areas of leadership, innovation, dedication to community, and commitment to Guyanese heritage. Ultimately, the Guyana Awards contribute to community development, social cohesion, integration, and overall human development in Canada and Guyana.

The Award recipients are selected by an independent panel of Judges from amongst nominations submitted by the Guyanese-Canadian Community. Among the guiding criteria for selection are a strong moral character, leadership, and community-building efforts.

• To promote and honour excellence and leadership within the Guyanese diaspora, especially amongst those residing in Canada.
• To recognize the efforts of individuals and organizations in building a strong and dynamic community in Canada and in other communities throughout the diaspora.
• To acknowledge contributions toward the maintenance and enrichment of Guyanese culture and heritage, including its dissemination both within and outside of the diaspora.
• To recognize the positive contributions of individuals or organizations to Guyana and/or the Guyanese diaspora.
• To promote community development, integration, social cohesion, and overall human development in Canada and Guyana.

The Charity of Choice for 2009 is The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), a world-renowned academic health sciences centre in Toronto, Canada, ranked as one of the top pediatric health-care facilities in the world. SickKids has a long-standing relationship with the Guyanese-Canadian community, having collaborated with several hospitals and not for profit organizations in Guyana and with local community groups in Toronto. Through programs such as the Herbie Fund, SickKids has assisted over 60 children from Guyana to improve their medical outcomes, as well as delivering pediatric health care to communities in Guyana.