First Lady launches initiative to promote Robotics, encourage reading 

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Georgetown, Guyana – (October 10, 2018) First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, today, launched a workshop that merges reading and robotics and is aimed at equipping librarians and community groups with the necessary skills to conduct robotics sessions for children in libraries and reading centres across the country.

The programme is being executed through a collaborative effort by the Office of the First Lady, the Ministry of Public Telecommunications, the National Library and STEM Guyana. It will cater for over 30 groups from the various regions.

Mrs. Granger said the marriage of reading and robotics is going to be an exciting union and issued a call for private sector support.  “I hope that our communities and private sector will get on board and see the benefit of this initiative…I think this is one of the first steps to an educated STEAM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Mathematics] population,” she First Lady said.

Meanwhile, Co-Founder of STEM Guyana, Ms. Karen Abrams, pointed out that talent is equally distributed throughout all of the communities across Guyana but opportunities are not.  In this regard, she expressed the hope that this initiative will open doors for youths who, otherwise, might not have the chance to get involved in robotics, while at the same time, encouraging more reading.

Also present at the opening was Ms. Emily King, Chief Librarian, who remarked that the National Library was pleased to be part of this initiative.

The two-day training programme is being held at the National Racquet Centre, Thomas Lands.