Amplifying young voices for a greener Guyana

Students across Guyana are playing an active role in advocating for a sustainable environment through Guyana’s Premier National Environmental Speech Competition, SHOUT, which returns for World Environment Day 2025.

This year’s competition, dubbed SHOUT 3.0, will take place on 5 June 2025 in honour of World Environment Day.

Supported by ExxonMobil Guyana and the Ministry of Education, the competition empowers secondary school students across all ten administrative regions to take an active role in environmental sustainability through public speaking, research, and advocacy.

Now in its third year, SHOUT 3.0, implemented by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Recover Guyana, has grown into a nationally recognised platform that inspires youth to take action and drive sustainable change.

The competition, open to Grade 9-10 students, seeks to raise awareness of pressing environmental issues while encouraging students to come up with innovative solutions to help safeguard their schools and communities.

Speaking at the opening ceremony at the National Library on Friday, Founder and President of Recover Guyana, Dave Lalltoo, said SHOUT 3.0 is more than just a competition but a movement empowering young voices to become the next generation of environmental leaders.

“By equipping students with knowledge, confidence, and a platform to advocate for change, we are shaping a more sustainable future for Guyana, one speech at a time,” Lalltoo said.

SHOUT 3.0 fosters leadership, innovation and environmental stewardship, offering students a platform to turn their ideas into meaningful projects that transform their schools and communities.

This year’s competition offers over $4M in cash and prizes, including a $1M cash grant to implement a proposed Environmental Enhancement Project at the winning high school.

Notable awards, including the ExxonMobil Guyana’s County Winner Green Innovation Awards, Best Speaker Award, Most Influential Speech Award, Green Award, and Environmental Impact Award, will reward outstanding achievements.

Since its inception in 2023, SHOUT has seen incredible success.

The first winner, Vasanna Persaud of Queen’s College, launched a Water Purification and Sustainability Project at her school to combat plastic bottle waste, saving 30,000 plastic bottles from landfills in 2024.

That project has become a sustainable model that Recover Guyana continues to implement in schools across Guyana.

In 2024, Gabriella Arjune, also a student of Queen’s College, emerged victorious and implemented the Queen’s College Hydroponic Kitchen Garden System.

This innovative project introduced sustainable farming techniques that reduce the environmental footprint of traditional agriculture while providing fresh, nutrient-dense produce for school meals.

This year’s competition will unfold over four phases, beginning with a one-minute video submission, giving applicants the opportunity to showcase their knowledge and passion for environmental protection.

Qualifying schools will advance to the remaining three phases, where they will deliver speeches to secure their spot among the top three finalists.

An expert selection panel will implement a fair and transparent process to evaluate the participants’ knowledge, proposed environmental solutions, and presentation skills to determine the finalists.