Guyana’s Prison System: Can History Make a Difference?

As part of the Being Human Festival the MNS team held a hybrid workshop at the Attenborough Arts Centre to examine the role of history by addressing present-day concerns about the form and function of incarceration in the post-colonial nation of Guyana.

Participants at the workshop were encouraged to examine some of the key features of imprisonment during the British colonial period (1814–1966) and connect them to the challenges faced by the prisons sector since the country’s independence in 1966. In addition to a guided exhibition of past and present images of Guyana’s prison system (attached), participants were provided with the opportunity to explore some of the other partnerships that have emerged from the project, including the creation and use of an interactive app for gathering data on infectious diseases. The session then provided the attendees with the opportunity to take part in a roundtable discussion, with officers from Guyana’s Prison Service and Mental Health Unit, to discuss how we can address difficult histories in a way that promises positive social change.