 democracy wall unveiled at ug democracy wall unveiled at ug democracy wall unveiled at ug webmaster wed 10042017 1731 to commemorate the international days of democracy and universal access to information the university of guyana ug yesterday unveiled a mural which it has dubbed the democracy wall painted and designed by students elodie cagesmith collis white and rayann darrell the mural located on the western end of the natural sciences building on the turkeyen campus is intended to serve as a canvass for the inscription of views on the significance of the two days ug s vicechancellor professor ivelaw griffith and european union eu ambassador to guyana jernej videtic were the first and second persons respectively to sign the mural after inscribing their concepts of democracy the launch of the democracy wall was a collaborative effort between ug and the eu delivering the feature address at the simple ceremony yesterday videtic said that democracy goes far beyond the idea of merely casting ballots in an election he told the small gathering of students and staff members that democracy must be seen as a whole way of life he said democracy can be exemplified by simply solving disputes in the classroom through dialogue as opposed to fighting as well as by insisting as citizens that our leaders serve us and not themselves according to the ambassador the international day of democracy observed on september 15 was adopted by the united nations in 2007 and represents an opportunity to promote the principles of democracy by inviting states and organisations to appropriately commemorate the day to raise public awareness videtic said that the eu is founded on a strong engagement to promoting democracy and the rule of law worldwide and added that sustainable peace and stability long term development and prosperity cannot exist without respect for democratic institutions such commitments to democracy he said underpins both internal and external qualities of the eu he noted that the eu s democracy policy encompasses civil political economic social and cultural rights the ambassador said it is the belief of the eu that democracy is the only political system which can fully realise all human rights even as he reminded that democracy is an ongoing process which has to be carefully nurtured underscoring that democracies are not always perfect videtic said that it is the essence of democracy to be aware of the shortcomings and realise that it is never achieved once for all hence the need for constant care and a critical and vigilant eye the ambassador said the eu stays committed to democratic reforms so much so that it remains a leading global actor in deploying election observation missions earmarking 45 million euros annually as well as providing electoral assistance funding projects of more than 180 million euros in 39 partner countries in the last few years while echoing the ambassador s sentiments vicechancellor griffith stressed that the rights conferred by democracy must conform to concomitant responsibilities even as he drew the nexus between democracy and access to information griffith noted that to have the accentuation of rights without responsibilities is to be doing only part of the pursuit of democracy quoting from the late nelson mandela griffith noted that an educated enlightened and informed population is one of the surest ways of promoting the health of a democracy the international day of democracy and the international day for universal access to information were celebrated on september 15 and 28 respectively article adapted from  https wwwstabroeknewscom 2017 news stories 1004 democracywallunveiledatug comments democracy eu european union 