Public speaking and protocol play a critical role in building confidence among young people, enabling them to advocate for themselves, their communities, and their countries, according to Her Excellency Gale Miller Garnett, Belize’s High Commissioner to Guyana.
Speaking to Ignite News following a workshop hosted in collaboration with The Imperial House on Sunday, Commissioner Garnett said, “Public speaking and protocol has a heavy level of importance because then it builds the confidence of the individual so for you to be able to go out and project, for you to have others understand who you are, you have to exhibit that confidence… It then spills over the individual, the society, the country and the region.”
The workshop, which took place at the World Trade Center Georgetown, saw 36 young participants awarded certificates of completion after training in public speaking, event hosting, and professional protocols. The sessions featured presentations from experts in communications, broadcasting, diplomacy, and public relations, including Ambassador Lisa Shoman, General Counsel to the CARICOM Secretariat, and trainers such as Janelle Persaud, Anita Ramprasad, Travis Bruce, and Safraz Yacoob.
Commissioner Garnett emphasized the bilateral dimension of the initiative. “It’s a bilateral relationship between Belize and Guyana. The benefit for Belize is that we are partnering and we’re looking after what is our social responsibility in this country because Guyana has been a very good partner…we are giving back what has been shared with us…we are paying back that relationship,” she said, noting the longstanding cooperation in areas such as military, police, and health professional training.
She also highlighted that the workshop’s sessions were carefully targeted to address the specific needs of participants. “All of the sessions that were planned in collaboration with The Imperial House were target sessions,” she said.
With 33 female and three male participants, the event also sparked discussion about the need to engage more young men. “One of the males said, ‘I am here, I am participating, we need to do more for the males for our society,’ and you think about it and you say, you know what, this is very much true because in as much as we want to empower our females, we can’t leave our males behind. That then propelled us to another level of conversation… all the sessions leaned into us being able to have a good conversation about the issues that the young people are facing,” Commissioner Garnett added.
The High Commission of Belize noted that beyond skills training, the workshop provided valuable opportunities for networking and mentorship, reinforcing the importance of youth development in public, professional, and diplomatic spheres.
