Two Arawak Indians from Guyana, South America will highlight their culture and the environmental challenges their country is facing during the annual Eden Project this weekend.

Terrence Andries of the Macushi Nation and Susan Rose Williams of the Wapishana Nation arrived for the Educational and Environmental Expo that will be held at CedarBridge Academy tonight and tomorrow.

"We've joined with the Eden project to talk about the environmental challenges in Guyana and to talk, share and interact with the people in Bermuda about the challenges and finding solutions for them," Mr. Andries said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Education Minister Paula Cox fittingly announced that the theme of this year's expo is `We are the World'.

"The chosen theme this year is `We are the World' which encapsulates the awesome responsibility each of us carries to be a steward of our environment and to preserve it for future generations to enjoy," she said.

Ms Cox said the expo was also designed to celebrate public education in Bermuda and to "laud" those who have been educated in the public school system and have achieved great things for themselves and the community.

Among the special guests attending will be professional soccer player Shawn Goater, CedarBridge Academy principal Kalmar Richards, barber Ricky Spence and ACE Insurance Vice President of Human Resources Pandora Wright.

This will be the first time the second annual Education Expo has partnered with the Eden Project that held its first expo in 2000, and Ms Cox said the partnership will be "beneficial".

"We could not have thought of a more suitable and synergistic partnership than this one for this particular project: Education and Eden joining forces to teach our students about their environment and their heritage," she said.

Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield said she hopes that the relationship between the environment and education would build in the future.

Both Ministers hoped that the community would come out and support the event and Ms Butterfield said there would be something for everyone during the two-day event.

"It is no secret that the environment is an extremely important asset that we are responsible for preserving and events such as these allow us to focus attention on particular aspects so that innovative solutions to the challenges that we face can be identified," Ms Butterfield said.

The successful locals will attend the expo on Friday evening starting at 8 p.m. and on Saturday the public are welcome to enjoy 20 different workshops and seminars on environmental and educational themes.

For more information about the upcoming weekends events call 297-3507 or 236-4201 at extension 272.