 recipients of honorary doctorates advocate for end to racism recipients of honorary doctorates advocate for end to racism recipients of honorary doctorates advocate for end to racism webmaster sun 11182018 2137 dr eddy grant proudly acknowledged his achievement as chancellor and vice chancellor of the university of guyana applaud i am a creator of words music and groove to touch your heart and to touch your soul that was how edmond montague eddy grant distinguished guyanese musician described himself on saturday morning as he was bestowed with an honorary doctorate degree by chancellor of the university of guyana prof nigel harris for his excellence in music and civic engagement by the university of guyana the writer and producer of the famous song electric avenue was the first of the four persons conferred with honorary doctorates by the educational institution during its 52nd convocation ceremonies on saturday accepting his accolade the famous guyanese artiste jokingly said he had always wanted to be a doctor my father always said i would be a doctor i was over fifty and my father still says there will be a way you can t whine forever he recalled noting that now i have satisfied the spirits that drives me he took time to thank his wife of 50 years mother his deceased grandmother his brother who is also a singer rudy grant and residents of the village of plaisance on the east coast of demerara who all helped to raise him as he reflected on how closeknit the community was back then i learned from the real people eddy grant said the creator of his own caribbean form rhythm called ringbang a concept which encourages humans to stop being insular grant used the stage to call on guyanese to abandon racial discrimination it is a sickness he said in the local society where everything is premised on race the plaisance born musician also called for greater collaboration among all race and strata of society read communicate and respect each other and in time guyana will be a nation grant said the gimme hope j oanna singer also called on the university to offer courses that cater for those who are not gifted with intellectual capacity but can work with their hands you can t all be lawyers and doctors he said as he spoke of the need for more technical persons to serve the various industries that lack skilled persons we must vice chancellor somewhere in this august society that you call university of guyana make available some space that those who are not gifted with intellectual capacity can master the elements the compounds to bring about a great social renaissance in guyana so much that we can export it grant said on the recommendation of the university of guyana academic board the university council adopted the proposal to confer the university s first honorary doctorate degrees this year dr yesu persaud the second recipient of this outstanding achievement is also a distinguished gentleman who is well deserving of the title moving from his first job as a rat catcher in the diamond estate to a banker chartered accountant and a merchant among other outstanding titles dr yesu persaud was fondly described as the saint who sells rum by ug s registrar dr nigel gravesande chancellor professor eon nigel harris conferred doctor of letter to dr yesu peraud while vice chancellor prof ivelaw griffith looks on dr persaud now 90 years old chaired the demerara distillers limited ddl for 48 years during which time the company produced the awardwinning el dorado 15yearold special reserve rum placing the country on the world map he was awarded for his iconic leadership in business and banking he sold the world known rum without being intoxicated dr gravesande noted as he gave his tribute to the businessman he described as incorruptible and pure as gold dr persaud no stranger to awards told those gathered nothing happens unless you make it happen as he delivered his acceptance speech to a packed audience at the national cultural centre like his honorary recipient before him the businessman made a plea for an end to racism isn t it time we all call ourselves guyanese if we want to build a nation we have to work together he said dr persaud known as one of the most outspoken local businessmen pioneered the demerara bank ltd diamond fire and general insurance inc and trust company guyana ltd the institute of private enterprise development iped among many others the other two recipients were jairaj sobhraj for excellence in entrepreneurship and philanthropy and laura george for outstanding community development and advocacy laura george moments before being conferred with her honorary doctorate dpi photo george pioneer of the amerindian people s association apa charged the university to commit to strategically and significantly undertake its role as the independent academia to produce correct information on the history of guyana mr sobhraj founder of the jay and sylvia sobhraj foundation and an outstanding philanthropist in his acceptance speech thanked his family for their contributions to his achievement recipient of an honorary doctorate jairaj sobhraj takes a knee to allow registrar of the university of guyana nigel gravesande to complete his robing as vice chancellor professor ivelaw griffith looks on dpi photo the jay and sylvia sobhraj foundation is a charity organization which is building a modern centre for behavioural studies and research at the university of guyana s turkeyen campus a total of 1739 students graduated from the university of guyana on saturday in three ceremonies at the national cultural centre source  https newsroomgy 20181111 recipientsofhonorarydoctoratesadvocateforendtoraci  