“You are not responsible for the divisions of the past” – Pres. Ali

President Dr Irfaan Ali, on Friday evening, made a passionate appeal to young Guyanese to strive for a decisive break from historical divisions and move towards a renewed commitment to national cohesion as he delivered the feature address at the opening of the Guyana Festival 2026 held at the Guyana National Stadium.

The Head of State further cautioned citizens, especially young people, to leave the prejudices of yesteryear in the past.

“This evening [Friday] I want to make a special appeal to our young people. I want to say to them, You are not responsible for the divisions of the past, but you hold a responsibility for the unity of the future,” President Ali urged.

He added, “Do not inherit former prejudices. Do not repeat old arguments that do not build new futures. Do not allow the past to define the limits of your imagination. Instead, become the generation that finally makes One Guyana.”

According to President Ali, Guyana’s young people carry a special responsibility in shaping the country’s future unity, encouraging them to become the generation that fully realises the “One Guyana” vision in schools, workplaces, and communities.

Staged under the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry, Friday’s opening marked the return of the Guyana Festival after a 12-year hiatus. The event is being held as part of celebrations marking Guyana’s 60th independence anniversary. It is part of the broader observances of the country’s Diamond Jubilee, commemorating the raising of the Golden Arrowhead in 1966 and six decades of nationhood.

President Ali described the celebration as an apt time for Guyanese to recommit to moving forward as a united people, underscoring what he described as the need to transform independence into a lived national reality rather than a symbolic achievement.

Reflecting on the country’s post-independence journey, the President said Guyana is still in the process of completing the work begun in 1966, calling for healing from “colonial engineered division” and inherited mistrust.

“The 60th anniversary of Guyana’s independence is a time for Guyana’s recommitment to unity, a recommitment to inclusion, a recommitment to the idea of Guyana,” President Ali said.

“For too long under colonial rule, diversity was not allowed to blossom into unity. Instead, it was massaged and manipulated to keep our people divided. Colonial engineered division. It constructed social hierarchy, encourage competition for scarce resources and buried mistrust where cooperation should have flourished. Colonialism did not leave us divided by accident; it left us divided by design.” He urged citizens to reject zero-sum thinking and ethnic rivalry, saying modern nationhood requires cooperation rather than competition.

“No nation can prosper when its people are divided against themselves,” he said.

“Sixty years after independence we are called to complete the work that was started in 1966. We are called to heal a nation. As part of that healing process, we must ask ourselves. What does it mean to be independent if we are still imprisoned by inherited suspicion? As we fast approach the 60th anniversary of our independence, I would like to invite all Guyanese to let this year’s observance become a decisive turning point. Let it become a moment where we say we will build together or we will not build at all.”

According to the President, that diversity must now be fully harnessed for nation-building, as highlighted by the contributions of African, Indian, Indigenous, Chinese, Portuguese, and European heritage to the country’s national identity.

“Let this Guyana festival allow us to experience each other not as strangers but as neighbours, not as competitors but as contributors,” he said, describing the festival as more than entertainment but as a tool for unity and social cohesion.

The Guyana Festival, held under the theme “Sound, Soul and Taste”, brings together music, cuisine, and cultural expression as a showcase of national identity.

“It is fitting that in this sixtieth anniversary year the Guyana festival invites us to celebrate through the theme of ‘Songs, Soul and Taste’. For in these three words we find the expression of evidence of who we are,” the President said.

“When we bring songs, soul and taste together, we are not simply hosting a festival. We are telling the world that this is what a united multicultural society looks like. When it embraces itself fully, this is what one Guyana is about. The idea of One Guyana must not remain an aspiration. It must become the operating principle of national life.”

The festival is aimed at engaging Guyanese from across all regions, as well as members of the diaspora and international visitors who will be in the country during that period. This year’s staging represents the revival of that concept, reimagined for a new era of national pride and cultural confidence.

President Ali said Guyana’s multicultural fabric remains its greatest strength, noting that songs, traditions, and cuisine reflect a shared national story.

“If there’s one defining feature of Guyana, it is our cultural diversity. I would like to say it is our greatest asset. We are people shaped by many histories, many journeys, many cultures and many traditions… Let’s use culture as a bridge and use our multicultural heritage to celebrate and unite,” the Head of State said.