UWI-CARICOM Project

The UWI-CARICOM Project
This a collaboration between the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus), Jamaica and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat to facilitate informed perspectives by CARICOM nationals and the international community on the policy implication of positions taken by our major organs on a range of regional development issues.

Specifically the project is designed to enable the UWI and CARICOM to:

  • promote the level of collaboration between them required to provide leadership in regard to regional and international issues critical to the re-positioning of the Community in the emerging liberalised and global environment;
  • pursue joint or co-ordinated actions to enhance the capacity of both institutions to attain their common objective of ensuring the economic growth and social development of Member States in emerging global economic and social order;
  • promote the achievement of joint capacity by both Parties to conduct analysis of critical challenges facing the Community and to identify the strategic options which could inform future policies of the Region;
  • seek to enlarge the institutional co-operation framework established by the Memorandum of Understanding to include other Associate Institutions of the Community.

What does UWI-CARICOM Project do?
This project infuses the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the global population with pertinent perspectives on CARICOM and the work of its Secretariat through information gathered by rigorous research and contained in invaluable publications, and radio and television documentaries. In addition, the UWI-CARICOM Project has chosen Cultural showcasing as an avenue for exposing distinguishing attributes of the Caribbean people.

Information Giving
Information is disseminated via mass media, research and documentation centres, and university, national, school and community libraries. Besides using mass media for publishing or broadcasting a finished product and relying on documentation centres to store documents for ready access, the UWI-CARICOM Project is continuously developing and maintaining contacts within the Region, who can utilise the products of the Project and facilitate snowballing in the spread of information.

Empowering CARICOM Nationals
A high priority for the UWI-CARICOM Project, through its productions, is to steer political elites and other decision and policy makers towards making informed choices for the benefit of the Region. Just as important for the Project is reaching nationals of the Community at all levels to aid essential understanding of how the integrative process will impact their lives.

The content of every book, paper, journal, documentary or cultural programme produced is intended to awaken the consciousness of CARICOM people into achieving the vision of integration.

Effective Deployment of the Region’s Human Resource

  • Skills Database
    UWI-CARICOM is continuously developing a Database of the Skills and talents available in both institutions. The purpose of this skills inventory is to examine the Secretariat’s gap in skills and highlight those available at the University, from which the Secretariat could benefit. This exercise involves studying the strategic plans of the Secretariat and UWI, the Secretariat’s work programmes, organisational charts, job descriptions of senior positions, inventory of the academic staff of the UWI, and review of the institution’s research projects.
     
  • Caribbean Executive Services (CARES) 
    Being aware of human resource needs and challenges in the Region, the UWI-CARICOM Project has developed a concept to establish an Executive Service Agency to function as a “clearing house” for the skills and expertise of retired Caribbean nationals. This project is currently awaiting funding in order to become operational.

How old is UWI-CARICOM?
The Project is seven years old, having started in December 1999. It was on the 7th of December that year that the CARICOM Secretariat entered into an agreement for the two institutions to work together on a range of issues.

Major players in UWI-CARICOM
The project is provided guidance by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Nigel E. Harris and the Most Honourable Professor Kenneth O. Hall, ON, OJ.    A management and administrative team that address the everyday functioning of the Project is based at the CARICOM Secretariat. Consultants are contracted on an as needs basis.

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