News Releases

Saint Lucian Prime Minister for UWI Distinguished Open Lecture

For Release Upon Receipt - February 27, 2015

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – On Tuesday, March 3, The UWI St. Augustine will host a Distinguished Open Lecture by Dr. The Honourable Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia as part of its CARICOM Leaders Lecture Series. The lecture will be on the topic, "Delivered or Denied: Integration’s Costs and Benefits" and takes place from 6pm at The UWI’s Daaga Auditorium.

According to Dr. Anthony, the story of CARICOM is synonymous with the post-federation evolution of the Anglo- Caribbean. He added “Its continued relevance as a regional institution is indivisible from the expectation that it can still deliver enhanced economic viability as one of its primary dividends. With many of the region’s economies experiencing low growth, high debt and dwindling investment, the most important benefits of an integrated economic space may yet remain undelivered.” Against this background, in Tuesday’s lecture, he will examine current economic challenges facing regional states, and question how CARICOM in its current configuration, ho pes to realize the primary benefits envisaged by its founding fathers. He will also identify critical issues constraining the achievement of more sustainable growth paths, and examines the attendant implications for the balance between political, social, and economic imperatives at domestic and regional level.

Dr. The Honourable Kenny Anthony's consciousness drove him to become active in politics early in life. He left his first love of teaching for politics shortly after Saint Lucia’s independence in 1979. Departing from a short stint as a part-time tutor at The UWI, he became special advisor in the Ministry of Education and Culture under the Allan Louisy Government in August of 1979. In December of 1980, he was then appointed a Senator and Minister for Education, a position he held until March of 1981. He then retreated to academia in the Law where he lectured at the Faculty of Law at The UWI Cave Hill Campus and served as CARICOM’s General Counsel, based in Guyana.

Dr. Anthony returned to active politics as Political Leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party in 1996 and served as Prime Minister of Saint Lucia for two consecutive terms until 2006. He was re-elected to the office of Prime Minister in 2011 and currently holds the portfolios of Finance, Economic Affairs, Social Security, Planning and National Development. Dr. Anthony has represented, in the House of Assembly, the electoral district of Vieux Fort South since 1997. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Birmingham. His wife, Professor Rose Marie Belle-Antoine, is Dean of the Faculty of Law at The UWI. St. Augustine.

For the 2014/2015 academic year, The UWI St. Augustine continues its CARICOM Leaders Lecture Series focussing on CARICOM: to explore its usefulness to the region and its future on the heels of the 40th Anniversary celebrations. In October 2013, His Excellency Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, Secretary-General of CARICOM launched the series with a Distinguished Open Lecture on “The Status of the Regional Integration Process and his vision for the Future of CARICOM”. Since that time, the campus hosted The Honourable Perry Christie, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, and Dr. The Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

The lecture is free and open to the public. For further information, please call 662 2002 ext. 83726 or email Marketing.Communications@sta.uwi.edu.

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About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: www.uwi.edu

 

(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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