Salutations
On March 30, 2003 when the Special Meeting of Education – COHSOD was held in Trinidad and Chaired by Suriname, I was delighted to welcome Ministers of Education to Trinidad and Tobago.
I also emphasised the importance of COHSOD as a mechanism that allows us to come together to learn from each other to plan for our education systems in our own countries while recognizing that our success ultimately will depend upon our ability to prepare young people of the Caribbean to assure future roles in all our activities.
Our purpose at this meeting is still the same as it was then: to see how far we have come in nourishing human potential in the CARICOM Region.
Since that meeting, we have come together in full force to represent the Caribbean at:
a) The Third meeting of Ministers of Education under the framework of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development of the Organisation of American States in Mexico in August 2003;
b) The Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Scotland in October 2003.
Both times we felt a special camaraderie as we worked together in the interest of not just our own country but also that of the Caribbean as a whole.
We later met in Retreat in Barbados in December 2003 and right here in Guyana just five months ago in June 2004. At all those meetings we were able to share our problems and successes and devise strategies for:
a) The future development of education in the Region;
b) The development of our own relationships as persons who are Ministers of Education in small developing countries.
In October 2003, Trinidad and Tobago assumed the Chairmanship of COHSOD and during that period, I made many friends and felt very much a part of a team – a CARICOM team.
We have, as a team, in our retreats discussed a Caribbean Strategy for Education -a concept that is so exciting that it has haunted my every waking moments.
And, as a team, we have shared many of our concerns in a bid to find solutions; we have discussed the ever-worrisome issue of violence and indiscipline in schools, and we have shared approaches; we have looked at the introduction of Technology Education and Information and Communication Technology – the new boys on the block; and as we traveled abroad; and we strategized as to how to win a battle over Teacher Migration.
Our approach to International Cooperation set the tone to enter the global village as we established building blocks and a foundation on which to take off. Yet challenges remain. We all have the challenges of capacity building, resource location and allocation, just to name a few.
We all have accepted the challenge of identifying a common path that can support all of us.
As I demit office, I want to let the Team know that Trinidad and Tobago appreciates the support and remains committed to regional development, and more importantly, as we forge a niche in this global arena, we recognize and will continue to address the geopolitical activities that have become a way of life.
Today I have the single honour of handing over that Chairmanship to Antigua and Barbuda, and thus the Chairmanship of Education – COHSOD to the Caribbean's newest Minister of Education, Honourable Bernard Joseph.
I do this and, at the same time, convey to you on behalf of all of us that we are all here ready and willing to assist you in the journey ahead. I would like to wish you all success in the coming year.
May God Bless us all.
