PM’s Innovative public education cash grant awarded to four youths

Four innovative persons were on Friday awarded with cash to develop their concepts in the
“Innovative Public Education Cash Grant Competition 2022.”
The programme is an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Office, Department of Public Affairs, in
collaboration with the Health Ministry and the National Covid-19 task force.   It was noted that it
required participants to submit innovative message concepts for public education in the fight
against Covid-19. Michael Gordon, Director of Public Affairs, said the entries were of all very
high quality. He noted that the messages remain relevant as Guyana and the rest of the world are
still in a pandemic.
Gordon said the concept is part of revolutionising mass communication as an overarching sector,
with significant financial input as a department. He disclosed that the winners were presented
with a plaque and individual cash prizes of $200,000 for first place winners and $100,000 for
second place in both categories, while the cash grant prize of $500,000 will be used jointly by
both first and second place winners to develop their concepts into usable media products.
Mikoowanyah Yosef-Yisrael is very grateful for the opportunity to make his concept a reality.
He is the first-place winner of category A. “I’m a sign language teacher, a sign language
interpreter, so naturally my work had a leaning towards that end whereby, I was showing the
covid guidelines of social distancing and also promoting a bit of deaf awareness, as we use sign
language to be a part of each other and to communicate during this pandemic,” Yosef-Yisrael
was quoted as saying.
Aiesha Scotland, who got second place for category A, is also pleased that her effort paid off.
“My entry is more or less