News Releases

Participants Hail Success of Diplomatic Academy’s Signature Communication Training

For Release Upon Receipt - November 15, 2019

St. Augustine


A highly interactive, four-day Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean (DAOC) module entitled The Art of Corporate and Diplomatic Communication that concluded yesterday drew enthusiastic participation from 20 learners. Upon completion of the module, participants praised the training, which led them through a practical programme on enhancing corporate and diplomatic communication skills. The training module was held at the St. Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), and its cohort of participants hail from diverse institutional settings, spanning the public, private and non-profit sectors, the church, academia, the military, two diplomatic missions and two Caribbean regional intergovernmental organisations.

Some of the participants’ testimonials regarding the training follow:

“A well-executed, intense course that allowed for active participation and hands-on learning. I was amazed as to how quickly I was able to see the improvement in my oral communication skills. The meaningful and spot-on feedback from the facilitator ensured that as high level professionals, we were well equipped with the communication skills needed in our line of work. I will not trade this experience for anything!” said Valene Streete-Victor, Administrative Officer, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

“I learned a lot from this course! The specific skills taught and sharpened by this course will prepare me for any exercise in communication. The wit, wisdom, and wealth of learning from this course will strengthen my career and life,” said the Reverend Adrian Sieunarine, The Presbyterian Church of Trinidad and Tobago.

“I like the way the programme was constructed, because it gave accommodation for the participant to immediately practice/execute the technique that was taught in the class. I was also really impressed by the facilitator’s attention to detail along with her knowledge on the topic,” said Patrick Ian Taylor, Measurement Technician, National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago.

“The training module was an enriching and valuable experience. It was engaging, well organised, and clearly presented. The facilitator created a safe and comfortable environment for all participants and presented the course material in a manner that was easy to understand and apply. I highly recommend this course because the knowledge and skills gained can be applied to personal and professional settings,” said Sherian Bachan, MSc Candidate, Global Studies, Institute of International Relations, The UWI.

The Art of Corporate and Diplomatic Communication has been an integral part of the DAOC’s curriculum since its inception, and it is a module offering that has routinely been in high demand in a context where increasingly networked organisations operating in information-centric (global) societies value client-facing staff with mastery of spoken and written communication. US-based communication consultant Ms. Sharon Welsh, a long-serving DAOC facilitator and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, delivered the module.

Launched on 6 May 2014, the DAOC is the Caribbean’s premier professional development-oriented diplomatic studies training centre. It aims to provide high-quality, immersive learning and short-term, hands-on practical training in modern diplomacy education, as a complement to formal and on-the-job training in that area. The Academy has a proven track record of offering training services to government, business and civil society organisations, as well as international organisations, leading to a Certificate of Training.

The Diplomatic Academy is an integral part of The UWI St. Augustine Campus and the Institute of International Relations, which is headed by Professor Jessica Byron.

Professor Byron was on hand for both the opening and closing ceremonies of the training module. In setting the context, Professor Byron called attention to the vital role that effective diplomatic communication can play in mitigating conflict, and in conflict management/resolution and peace-building within and among countries in today’s complex world. The Manager of the DAOC, Dr. Nand C. Bardouille, underscored that while negotiation or bargaining is the currency of or life-blood for diplomacy, it is essentially a communicative endeavour, be it in service of corporate branding, nation branding (public diplomacy), driving institutional change and influencing others. Dr. Bardouille noted that regardless of where they are institutionally based, it is his hope that participants will come away from the module with a “toolkit” of applicable skills that can immediately be leveraged to help achieve success in their academic and/or professional pursuits. Ms. Sharon Welsh reaffirmed these sentiments and conveyed how pleased she is with the performance of the cohort of participants.

 

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About the DAOC

The DAOC is a first-of-its-kind, practitioner-focused diplomatic studies training centre, which continues to make a major contribution to the effective and impactful conduct of Caribbean diplomacy. Its realisation stems from an exemplary partnership between The UWI St. Augustine Campus and the government of the day of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The DAOC has yielded substantial and complementary benefit to the IIR, which was established in 1966 by agreement between the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and the Government of Switzerland.

Integral to the DAOC’s mission is its commitment to help close human resource capacity gaps in international affairs and diplomacy in the Caribbean, by providing capacity-building and skills development training in diplomacy to up and coming diplomats and to aspiring diplomats from the Caribbean region. This diplomatic learning and training facility also strengthens the University’s capacities for research/analysis, knowledge-sharing, advocacy, and partnerships and dialogue on the relationship between diplomacy and the Caribbean, broadly conceived with the goal of helping to facilitate policy-relevant awareness-raising ideas and initiatives on international affairs issues of import (and that are topical) to the region.

The Diplomatic Academy derives its character from its global outlook, real-world impact and Caribbean mindedness which, in sum, constitute The DAOC Advantage™.

 

For more information, please visit: 

https://sta.uwi.edu/daoc/

 

About The UWI

For more than 70 years The University of the West Indies (The UWI) has provided service and leadership to the Caribbean region and wider world. The UWI evolved from a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948 to an internationally respected, regional university with near 50,000 students across five campuses: Cave Hill in Barbados; Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda; Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago; and an Open Campus. Times Higher Education has ranked The UWI among the top 1,258 universities in world for 2019, and the 40 best universities in its Latin America Rankings for 2018 and 2019. The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists. 

As part of its robust globalization agenda, The UWI has established partnering centres with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Africa including the State University of New York (SUNY)-UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development; the Canada-Caribbean Studies Institute with Brock University; the Strategic Alliance for Hemispheric Development with Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES); The UWI-China Institute of Information Technology, the University of Lagos (UNILAG)-UWI Institute of African and Diaspora Studies and the Institute for Global African Affairs with the University of Johannesburg (UJ). The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Sport. As the region’s premier research academy, The UWI’s foremost objective is driving the growth and development of the regional economy. For more, visit www.uwi.edu.

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

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