 president david granger and opposition leader dr bharrat jagdeo invited to the first diaspora engagement conference to be convened in guyana president david granger and opposition leader dr bharrat jagdeo invited to the first diaspora engagement conference to be convened in guyana president david granger and opposition leader dr bharrat jagdeo invited to the first diaspora engagement conference to be convened in guyana webmaster sat 4292017 1010 the university of guyana ug will host its inaugural diaspora engagement conference from july 23 to 28 2017 in georgetown guyana under the theme dreaming diaspora engagement doing diaspora engagement the conference is expected to attract several hundred participants hosted by the university of guyana with support from a team of leaders in the diaspora and other stakeholders the conference is organised around two overarching pillars human social and entrepreneurship development and diaspora philanthropy and diplomacy the conference is expected to provide the platform for developing a diaspora engagement strategy that would inform the work of the first caribbean diaspora engagement center the launch of the center is expected to be a major highlight of the sixday conference according to ug s vicechancellor ivelaw lloyd griffith the conference will contribute to the development of diaspora policy and a framework to effectively attract direct diaspora investment and engage the diaspora in nation building his excellency president david granger has been invited to deliver the keynote address and to declare the conference open on monday july 24 2017 while the opposition leader dr bharrat jagdeo was invited to deliver the luncheon address on tuesday july 25 2017 additionally hon carl greenidge minister of foreign affairs will make a presentation at the conference along with other keynote speakers and presenters the conference has three components namely an academic symposium a business forum and community engagement the symposium will receive academic presentations on key issues such as international and regional migration policies cultural identities and the diasporas financial transfers and remittances social remittances tourism diaspora trade and investments among other areas members of the large caribbean diaspora in new york canada and the uk are expected to attend and provide input match skills and create transnational networks to build a robust diaspora engagement and productive partnerships the highpoints of the conference include a cultural night which would see conference registrants enjoying a night of cultural extravaganza free of cost and a number of guyana tour options will be available to registrants to enjoy on thursday july 27 2017 the period for submission of abstracts has ended and a number of submissions were received on a wide range of topic areas registration however is still open registration can be done online at http diasporaconferenceuogedugy   conference participants in guyana can pay for their registration at citizen s bank locations and at the bursary on turkeyen or tain campuses persons registering now will catch the early bird fees diaspora diaspora engagement conference president granger bharrat jagdeo 