Message from the Programme Chairperson
The members of the Caribbean Research Cluster for Population and Sustainable Development welcome all participants and panellists to this conference on Population and Sustainable Development. We are pleased that The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies in The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, has agreed to host this conference which is the first in a series of Caribbean s-specific conferences to be hosted by the Cluster.
Our Cluster views this conference as an initial step in the process of bringing greater visibility to interdisciplinary approaches to population studies in the Caribbean region. The response to the Call for Abstracts echoed the current and emerging socio-demographic and economic concerns of Trinidad and Tobago: population ageing, maternal and child mortality, data accessibility and the issues associated with urbanization and advanced human development.
In organizing this conference, great effort was taken to provide an experience that aligns with the Cluster’s scholarly and activist goals. The three feature lectures (The George Roberts Plenary Lecture, The Norma Abdulah Plenary Lecture and The Jack Harewood Plenary Lecture) and three plenary panels (featuring the Ministry of Planning and Development, Local Civil Society Organizations and Youth Development Specialists) were strategic additions to the programme. We appreciate the willingness of these organizations and individuals to engage participants in a dialogue to improve policy approaches and broaden public knowledge about the role that socio-demographic dynamics play in Sustainable Development.
Recognizing that academic conferences can themselves perpetuate a system of inequitable access to information, the Cluster agreed to prioritize both a physical conference experience and a virtual presence where researchers, students, policy-makers and the public can access the information and deliberations of the conference.
To this end, the Cluster has agreed to three specific outcomes for this conference which will extend beyond this three day experience
- Information Sharing: Subject to permission from authors, conference presentations will be made available via the conference website. It is the hope of the Cluster that participants and persons who could not attend will access abridged versions of presentations, thereby improving the availability of local research on Population Dynamics and Sustainable Development.
- Conference Outcome Document: Working with the event team, participants are asked to vocalize research and policy implementation recommendations. These will be compiled to create an outcome document that will inform the Cluster’s future priorities.
- Strategic Collaboration: Working with authors and willing stakeholders, the Cluster has set a 24 month agenda to execute the priorities for action. These priorities will include the peer review process and publication for authors, facilitating partnerships among participants and between the participants and the Cluster members.
The members of the Caribbean Research Cluster for Population and Sustainable Development look forward to creating a physical and virtual space to discuss and share ideas and develop partnerships beneficial to Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean Region as a whole.
Taresa Best-Downes
Caribbean Research Cluster for Population and Sustainable Development
Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies
The University of the West Indies
St. Augustine
