(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Regional Information and Translation Institute (CRITI) was launched in Paramaribo, Suriname on Thursday 17 January with a burst of firecrackers in the presence of the President of the Republic of Suriname His Excellency Drs Runaldo Venetiaan.
Moments earlier the President and the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Forum of ACP States (CARIFORUM) His Excellency Edwin Carrington had unveiled a plaque and signed an Headquarters Agreement between Suriname and CARIFORUM during the launch ceremony which was attended by a number of dignitaries led by the Vice President of Suriname His Excellency Ramdein Sarjoie, members of the Cabinet of Suriname, the President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the Honourable Mr Justice Michael de la Bastide and members of the Diplomatic Corps.
In his feature address, President Venetiaan alluded to the challenges posed to integration of the Caribbean Region by the difference in languages and culture. He cited in particular the legal systems and the difficulty in disseminating information correctly to the mass of people. The latter problem, he said, hindered the knowledge, appreciation and understanding of each other’s culture. “Language”, the President said, “should not impede this.”
He welcomed the advent of CRITI as a key development in removing the obstacles to the challenges he identified. He hailed the launch of the Institute as an “auspicious day” and said he was happy and proud as CRITI was the first Regional Institution to be opened in his country, Suriname.
Secretary-General Carrington, in his statement, said that the location of CRITI and the CARICOM Competition Commission in Suriname confirmed the central role that that country had assumed in both CARIFORUM and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Mr Carrington wondered whether history would recall 17 January 2008 as “not simply the launch of the Caribbean Regional Information and Translation Institute but ….a springboard for a quantum leap towards the fuller integration of the Caribbean Region.”
He said institutions such as CRITI served to enhance the co-mingling of peoples and thus the strengthening of the Community and facilitating the creation of “A Community for All.”
The Secretary-General expressed the appreciation of CARIFORUM for the assistance of the European Union (EU) in establishing the Institute. CRITI received more than 1.5 million euros out of a grant of 40.5 million under the Caribbean Integration Support Programme which was signed with the EU.
However, Mr Carrington warned that the Region must begin “from now to pay close attention to (the Institute’s) medium and long term sustainability so that its delivery of services does not suffer when the grant funding from the EU comes to an end.”
CRITI will facilitate official intra-CARIFORUM and intra-CARICOM communications at political and technical levels in the four (4) official languages of CARIFORUM. The Institute is being established at a time when trade expansion and the movement of capital and services will require information and translation services to be provided to the private sector to facilitate trade, commerce and investments.
CRITI will also offer a translation and information service to professional bodies, and the general public on a cost recovery basis as part of its long term sustainability strategy.
Also speaking at the launch were the Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation of Suriname, the Hon Ricardo van Ravensway, the representative of the EU His Excellency Ambassador Gert Heikens, and His Excellency Ambassador Clarence Henry of Antigua and Barbuda, who read a statement on behalf of the Chairman of CARIFORUM.
