The Festival (RMAF) is delighted to announce that Ashook Ramsaran, of Guyanese origin living in New York, USA, has been appointed as a Patron of the Festival.
Established in 2013, The Festival promotes the traditional and indigenous cultures of Guyana, the wider Caribbean and South America, through its annual camping music festival, in tandem with an ‘all-year-round’ arts programme, including upcycling – training workshops in which young people convert discarded material into musical instruments; tree-planting and recycling. The 1st Festival was launched on 14th February 2014, on Valentine’s night, at Rock View Lodge in Annai, to reinforce its message of love, of living in harmony with nature and mankind. The Festival is a voluntary-led organisation that uses the arts as tools for social and peaceful changes.
Ashook Ramsaran is a USA civic and global Indian Diaspora leader. He is President of Indian Diaspora Council and received advanced engineering degrees from New York Polytechnic University. He has held many prominent engineering positions before establishing his own manufacturing enterprise. He is widely recognised for establishing Indian indenture monuments in Kolkata, Guyana and other countries, as well as street ‘namings’ in New York, honouring outstanding individuals and institutions. He has received numerous accolades in India, UK, USA, Canada and Caribbean and is cited in US Congressional Record. “It’s indeed an honour and a privilege to serve in this capacity as a Patron and I look forward to contributing to the organisation in whatever way I can in the coming years” said Ashook.
Ashook joins a committed team of Patrons who support the work of the Festival and includes Hon. David Lammy (UK Foreign Secretary); Professor David Dabydeen (Honorary Fellow, Selwyn College at Cambridge University); Baroness Valerie Amos (former UN Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator) and Floyd Haynes (Founder and Chairman of New Hayven Merchant Bank). One of the founding Patrons of the Festival, Professor David Dabydeen, was happy to welcome Ashook ‘on board’ and thanked him for the wonderful work he has been doing over the years.
According to Bob Ramdhanie, co-Founder and Director of the Festival, “we look forward to working with Ashook and are aware of his expertise and experience, which we know will benefit the Festival and Guyana. We hope that he will soon join us for a live festival in Guyana.”