Guyanese Tricia Teekah named Commonwealth ‘Young Person of the Year’

Mar 27, 2017 News

A young, vibrant Guyanese is once again the face of something laudable.
Tricia Teekah, who successfully led the ‘Vote Like A Boss’ campaign, has been named the Commonwealth ‘Young Person of the Year’ for the Caribbean and Canada Region 2017.
The 27-year-old co-founder of the Guyana National Youth Council (GNYC) was presented with the highly prestigious award on March 15 last, during a well-executed ceremony held at the Marlborough House in London.
Teekah was among 17 finalists chosen from over 210 applicants from 30 Commonwealth countries. In addition to a gleaming trophy and certificate, the youth leader was also presented with a cheque for £3000 to continue her ‘Vote Like A Boss initiative.
The Eccles, East Bank Demerara resident said that she is extremely proud of the work of the GNYC, especially where the aforementioned campaign is concerned.
Teekah, a former St. John’s College graduate, said that she was genuinely heartened by the award, but highlighted that the 2015 campaign to get more young people involved in the electoral process, was a massive team effort.

GNYC’s co-founder, Tricia Teekah poses with her award

“I think there were about 20 partners and a really large team, so I am just merely the face of this campaign…I think I have about 50-100 young people standing behind me…they really made this campaign a tremendous success,” Teekah said.
The ‘Vote Like A Boss’ campaign was birthed from a need to get more young people involved in Guyana’s electoral process.
Teekah explained that the campaign served to banish all the misconceptions that young people are not interested in political participation and the electoral process.
“Young people are very much interested in what is happening in the country and what their leaders are doing…and they want to contribute to the electoral and democratic processes,” the former J.E Burnham Primary School student said.
In addition to getting more youths involved in voting and all that surrounds it, the ‘Vote Like A Boss’ campaign is believed to have had a major impact in changing the decades old voting habits of Guyanese.
In a country like Guyana, where the populace is known to be perpetrators of ethnic voting, the GNYC felt that it was important to have young people understand the need for voters to elect leaders based on merit, and not the colour of skin, or texture of hair.
“…having them interact with manifestos, and using that as a base to engage political leaders and candidates,” Teekah pointed out.
She said that the impact of the campaign has been nothing short of phenomenal.
“I think we’re still grasping it all,” the youth leader added.
She went on to explain some of the changes that the ‘Vote Like A Boss’ campaign has brought about among young Guyanese.
“We’ve seen that there is now a willingness and an empowerment for people to engage their elected leaders, to hold them accountable to their commitments, because we went through the manifestos, we know that you promise us ‘X’ and we want you to deliver.”
Teekah explained, too, that the campaign even had the overwhelming impact of older persons voting for the first time.
“We’ve interacted with seniors who voted for the very first time because of the campaign… I think that touched us the most,” Teekah noted.
She reminded of the GNYC’s continuous efforts to encourage youths and women to contend future national elections.
Teekah expressed gratitude to the Commonwealth, for bestowing upon her, an award that has made Guyana proud.
“Thank you…especially to the youth division, all of our mentors and guiders, everyone who contributed to this campaign to make it a success.”
Teekah received her award from Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland QC, who teasingly encouraged the emergence of a ‘Run like a Boss’ Campaign to further promote youths running for government offices.
Her mother, Gangadai Shrinath, expressed her extreme pride in both of her children, as she recalled them to be mannerly, academically focused and loving.
Shrinath told this newspaper that even with the death of her husband when Tricia was 19-years-old, the young lady still managed to pull through her grief and work towards success.
The Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work is geared at celebrating the efforts of youth leaders  aged 15–29 from Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean and Americas, Africa and Europe, who are leading initiatives ranging from poverty alleviation to peace-building.
The 2017 finalists of the awards are recognised for spearheading projects that will propel the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals – a set of 17 global targets that governments have committed to achieving by 2030.
It should be noted that Teekah and the other awardees were chosen by a judging panel that includes representatives of Commonwealth High Commissions, Commonwealth organisations and other young leaders.