September 16, 2004

Dear Colleagues :

Please accept the sincerest thanks from the Guyana Folk Festival Committee for your contributions to this year's symposium.

As a result of your contributions, we have received many congratulatory notes about the organization and substance of the symposium. Thank you.

Please join me in extending special thanks to Dr. Juliet Emanuel, Lorna McKenzie, Dr. Aaron Fox, students from The Center for Ethnomusicology at Columbia University, and Ms. Muriel Glassgow for their contributions to the success of the event. Their unselfish dedication was inspiring.

We also thank the facilitators, moderators, respondents and discussants--Ron Bob-Semple, Dr. Aubrey Bonnett, Dr. Dennis Douglas, Dr. Juliet Emanuel, Dr. Gary Girdhari, Claud Leandro, Angela Massiah, Dr. Prem Misir, Kojo Nnamdi, Dr. Cicely Rodway and Dr. Charlotte Williams--they helped to create the environment that encouraged positive and enriching dialogue.

Thanks must also be extended to the representatives of the Government of Guyana (Guyana's Ambassador to the United States, Hon. Bayney Karran; and Dr. Jennifer Westford) and Dr. Prem Misir, Pro-Chancellor of the University of Guyana. Their presence ensured that there were connections with Guyana. We hope to grow those relationships.

The symposium was probably the largest gathering of Guyanese "word smiths" in three decades. The symposium planning team is committed to making accessible the materials (papers and dialogue) from the symposium. To this end, Dr. Emanuel will be editing a special volume on the proceedings. Ultimately, a DVD will be released.

To help in the publication and dissemination phase, we are requesting all presenters to send to Dr. Emanuel a copy of your revised paper. The paper should be sent electronically to her at JAEMANUEL@cs.com by the October 30, 2004.

Work has already started on the 2005 symposium. The theme will be "Celebrating Guyanese Dance." The Call for Participation will be issued shortly.

Again, thank you for your contributions to the 2004 symposium.

Peace

Vibert C. Cambridge, Ph.D.,
for the Symposium Planning Team