Awards Nominations

2010 Theme: Diversity in Our Villages, Harmony in Our Culture

The Guyana Cultural Association Awards: Call for Nominations

The Guyana Cultural Association of New York 2010 Awards ceremony will take place in Brooklyn, New York on September 1, 2010. The Awards will recognize individuals and entities whose work in our communities exemplifies Diversity in Our Villages, Harmony in Our Culture. We also plan to acknowledge the contributions by youth aged up to 25 years, and business entities, as well. This year we will especially acknowledge individuals from villages and village communities who enrich Guyanese society. Accordingly, we invite nominations for our three categories of awards. The deadline for nomination is July 16, 2010.

The Guyana Cultural Association Lifetime Achievement Award is reserved for presentation to Guyanese nationals. The Guyana Cultural Association Award and Guyana Cultural Association Exemplary Award can be offered to any individual or entity. All honorees will have demonstrated by their individual or organizational action a sense of purpose in promoting positive Guyanese traditions.

Youth nominations must detail the academic and extra curricular accomplishments that position the nominee above the average in his or her area of scholastic and cultural activities.

A selection committee will evaluate each nomination considering seven criteria: originality, scope, impact / influence, integration, pioneering spirit, challenges and achievements.

Every Awardee’s work must meet a distinction considered an exemplary model that can inspire others. Each contribution will have impacted cultural attributes that Guyanese admire, or honor, or preserve.

In keeping with GCA selection criteria and tradition, the Awardee villages would be expected to represent cultural attributes at a high level of skill. The range of activity can cover a wide array of positive deeds.

Our emphasis is on community group actions that have initiated and sustained something worthy. The action or conduct could have been a precursor to what we have today.

We are particularly interested in honoring village groups that are respected in their local communities but largely unknown to the Guyanese public at home and abroad.

Please submit nominations by e-mail to Awardsnominations@guyfolkfest.org including the nominee's name, a photograph, contact information, and a summary explaining why the nominee deserves to win the award in a particular category. Hard copy (paper) nominations can be mailed to Ms. Goring at the New York address.

More nomination details, including eligibility and selection criteria, are available at www.guyfolkfest.org/awards_nominations.htm

The deadline for nomination is July 16, 2010.

Ronald H. Lammy,
Co-Chair Awards Committee

Selection Criteria

Originality:
This attribute refers to the nature of the idea, expression, or product/innovation. The term “expression” issued here refers to more than verbal expressions and can include any manifestation of Guyanese creativity from plait bread, butter flap, peddle pushers, music, paintings, our cuisine, etc.
Scope:
Did the idea, expression, product/innovation have ramifications /consequences beyond the village, country, region, etc? Has it been long lasting? Here we also consider factors that could have constrained or restricted the scope of the idea, expression, product /innovation.
Impact/Influence:
Did the idea, expression, or product/innovation have economic, political, cultural, and social consequences?
Integration:
Did the idea, expression, or product or innovation contribute to social, cultural, and political harmony? Also, did it lead to the improvement of cultural understanding?
Pioneering spirit:
Pioneering spirit refers to an idea, expression, and product or innovation that was introduced even in the face of derision.
Challenges:
This refers to nominees who have overcome physical, psychological, economic, social, residential, cultural, and political barriers to make a contribution that satisfies some of the criteria or attributed listed at 1 through 5.
Achievements:
This refers to the nominee’s body of work. It is not a mere quantitative measure – “Nuff is not always the best.”
Youth - Outstanding Achievement:
The nominee must attain one of the top three grade rankings in his or her institutions programs in the humanities, creative and expressive arts. Evaluation emphasis will be placed on accomplishments in music, theatre arts, Caribbean history and Caribbean literature. If the latter two are not available in the nominee’s school’s curriculum, world history and world literature will be accepted as substitutes.

Eligibility

The Guyana Cultural Association Lifetime Achievement Award is reserved for Guyanese nationals.
The Guyana Cultural Association Exemplary Award and the Guyana Cultural Association Award are offered to any individual or entity.
Youth awardees are either born in Guyana, or have at least one parent who is Guyanese or of Guyanese descent.

Completing a Nomination

Focus on the selection criteria that describe the nominee’s contribution.
Be specific and concise. Submit 100 or more words but do not exceed 500.
Assume the review committee knows nothing about the nominee.
Provide a photograph with your form.
Email your completed form before July 16, 2010
Send paper nominations to:

Claire A. Goring
Guyana Cultural Association of NY
1368 E. 89^th St., Suite 2
Brooklyn, NY 11236

NOMINATION DEADLINE IS JULY 16, 2010

SELECTION WILL BE MADE FROM NOMINATIONS RECEIVED ON TIME AND THAT ARE COMPLETE.

It is the responsibility of the nominator to ensure that the nomination is complete.

IMPORTANT
Please e-mail the photograph in the JPEG format as a separate attachment to: AwardsNominations@guyfolkfest.org and reference your nominee's name for our information.