The UWI, OECS sign development agreement

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) has come in for high praise for its commitment to creating a legacy for the Region through its deepening relationship with the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The commendation came from Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UWI’s Cave Hill campus, Professor Eudine Barriteau, who described the OECS as the template to the rest of the region on matters of integration and regionalism and as a model of what can be achieved if there is a commitment to partnership and cooperation.

Barriteau’s remarks were made as that collaboration was strengthened by way of the signing of the latest memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the OECS-UWI Cave Hill yesterday.

The principal explained that the key objective of the MoU was to facilitate diverse forms of cooperation between the two parties and focus on several key areas including but not limited to: technical support, collaborative research, joint teaching, workshops, seminars and summer institutes, combined public outreach and exchange of interns and visiting fellows, mutual access to libraries and resource centers and collective strategies to promote Caribbean regionalism.

“The UWI-OECS collaboration is a meaningful example of a flourishing developmental-academic partnership that adheres to the university’s strategic objectives of expanding access to educational opportunities, while enhancing our alignment and agility in response to our stakeholders’ needs.

This partnership continues to facilitate research for regional development as well as foster student development. In this regard, I wish to commend the OECS for its commitment to creating a legacy for the Region through its continued partnerships with The UWI, particularly the Cave Hill campus.

The UWI Cave Hill campus’ engagement with regional development institutions is well established. We look forward to a strengthened partnership with the OECS as we continue to collaborate on advancing Caribbean development for a sustainable future,” Barriteau said.

Also in attendance at the signing ceremony was Director General of the OECS Dr. Didacus Jules who explained how the newest initiative came about. He said that about ten months ago, the OECS Commission established an OECS Youth Advisory Network which brought together the leadership of the National Youth Organisations from all member states including some from other Caribbean states to chart the way forward for youth development. This was based on a simple principle – that if the youth are the inheritors of tomorrow, they should be the principal architects of its design.

Jules went on to note that on its establishment, the Network began to organise its work following the pillars of the OECS Youth Engagement Strategy (OECS-YES).

Additionally, in an effort to widen and deepen the engagement with other youth in the region, the Advisory Network created several working groups that included a research group that would spearhead research on youth issues and undertake surveys of youth opinion.

However, given the complexity of the research agenda that was defined, the OECS Commission reached out to the Head of the Department of Government, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology in the Faculty of Social Sciences Dr. Wendy Grenade seeking her assistance in providing expert advice and training for the group.

“As the poet says, ‘way leads on to way’ and so this initial assistance has mushroomed into a potential programme of its own with faculty providing support for [the] publication of work of the group through mentor review and advice; structured training in quantitative and qualitative research; and the suggestion of a modular diploma in regional integration. . . . So, today’s event is the crystallisation of these three major threads of collaboration in education, trade policy and in youth development.

The general purpose of this agreement is to facilitate diverse forms of cooperation between the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Cave Hill Campus by creating an enabling framework.

It would allow us to move beyond the remit of the current initiatives to wider possibilities of synergy in areas of critical importance to our regional integration mandate,” Jules said.

“PVC Barriteau, I wish to express the deep appreciation of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States for your record of ready collaboration and your attentiveness to the welfare of our students especially when the pandemic necessitated a lockdown of institutions.

It is our hope and expectation that this MoU will not remain a signed document but become a vibrant engagement in many spheres that will develop the intellectual capital of the OECS using cost-effective modalities, disruptive methodologies, and focused interventions,” he added.

Some of the more recent partnerships between the UWI and the sub-region group of states include: the 2015 MoU between The OECS and UWI Cave Hill campus (IMPACT JUSTICE project), to address some of the justice sector deficiencies identified by subregion’s stakeholders; the 2016 MoU with UWI-CERMES, aimed at incorporating environmental issues into sustainable development agenda of OECS member countries; and the 2020 MOU with the Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law and Policy Services to improve the sub-region’s trade capacity in the areas of trade and trade related issues through the Master’s Degree in International Trade Policy (OECS MITP) training at the Centre. (KC)