News Releases

Sir Hilary Beckles appointed UN Special Advisor

For Release Upon Receipt - October 14, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – Sir Hilary Beckles, Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor, The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus has been appointed a special advisor to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. 

The UN’s top official wrote to Sir Hilary in late September inviting him to be a member of the recently established Scientific Advisory Board which will advise the Secretary General and executive heads of other UN organisations on Science, Technology and Innovation for sustainable development. 

“This is a great personal honour indeed and signal recognition for the university,” Sir Hilary said of his appointment. “I have worked for many UN organisations over the years, but to be an advisor to the Secretary General, in this new way, on sustainable development is special.” Sir Hilary will join with internationally renowned scientists drawn from the fields of Natural, Social and Human Sciences, on the board which has been mandated to “strengthen the linkages between science and policy, and to ensure that the latest scientific findings are reflected in high-level policy discussions within the United Nations systems”.

His appointment to the board is for a two-year period with the possibility of renewal for a further two-year term. It comes at a time when he is spearheading a Science and Technology drive at the Cave Hill Campus as it transitions towards becoming a research-oriented university. 

The advisory board, which was created by the Secretary General, was one of the recommendations coming out of a High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability co-chaired by the former President of Finland, Ms. Tarja Kaarina Halonen and South African President Jacob Zuma, which was formed in the lead-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) held in Brazil in June 2012. 

The board will function under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 

Sir Hilary’s latest international appointment follows that in March this year, when he was appointed to the Commonwealth Advisory Body on Sports (CABOS) which advises the Commonwealth Secretariat and Commonwealth governments on sport policy.

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About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with over 50 physical site locations across the region, serving over 20 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Pure & Applied Sciences, Science and Agriculture, and Social Sciences. 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

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