News Releases

UWI Diplomatic Academy Webinar Spotlights Foreign Policy Coordination of CARICOM Member States

For Release Upon Receipt - November 12, 2021

St. Augustine


The UWI St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad & Tobago. Friday 12 November 2021 – On November 16, The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean (DAOC) will host its latest webinar titled, The Coordination of the Foreign Policies of the Member States of CARICOM: A Contemporary Reappraisal.

“This webinar represents yet another opportunity for the Diplomatic Academy to play an active and leading role in foreign policy debate and discourse on the nexus between the Caribbean and diplomacy,” said DAOC Manager, Dr. Nand C. Bardouille. He noted, “In recent years, the coordination of the foreign policies of the Member States of CARICOM has increasingly come into public view. In the context of growing public interest in a contemporary reappraisal of the several issues at play, the DAOC is pleased to step forward and facilitate requisite dialogue.” 

The webinar features Ambassador Colin Granderson, Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat; Ambassador Curtis A. Ward, former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations with Special Responsibility for Security Council Affairs (1999-2002); Ambassador Dr. Patrick I. Gomes, former Secretary General, African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP); Ambassador Errol Humphrey, former Ambassador of Barbados to the European Union (EU); and Ambassador Dr. Riyad Insanally, former Ambassador of Guyana to the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS). Ambassador Dr. June Soomer, former Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), will serve as the webinar’s discussant.

Article 16 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean Community including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy draws attention, among other things, to the role of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) in “establish[ing] measures to co-ordinate the foreign policies of the Member States of the Community, including proposals for joint representation, and seek[ing] to ensure, as far as practicable, the adoption of Community positions on major hemispheric and international issues.”   

This webinar provides a platform for open and in-depth debate on contemporary issues that encumber what is envisioned regarding the Revised Treaty text under reference, paying close attention to the concept and wider context of “a Community of Sovereign States.” This debate will also afford an opportunity for discussion of opportunities to live up to the letter and spirit of the text in question, paying close attention to lessons learned, success stories and best practices in respect of leveraging national- and bloc-level foreign policy apparatuses.

In reflecting on how fortunate the DAOC is to have secured the participation of the line-up of five distinguished panellists and the discussant for the webinar, Dr. Bardouille underscored the importance of events such as this webinar in bridging academic and policy communities, lending to a much-needed exchange of views and knowledge.

The deadline to register for the webinar is November 12th. The DAOC Secretariat will grant registered participants access to documentation that anchors the webinar, inclusive of panellists' presentations and other resource material.

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About the Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean

The DAOC is the Caribbean's premier professional development-oriented diplomatic studies centre. An integral part of The University of the West Indies’ Institute of International Relations (IIR), it was established in 2014. The DAOC has a primary teaching mandate in the area of diplomatic studies, offering short, highly specialized training modules in the broad field of diplomatic studies. For Caribbean professionals seeking to expand their capabilities to advance an international career, the DAOC is a trusted educational partner. Combining a world-class suite of curricular offerings, which align with topical policy and learning trends, with a programme of advocacy and partnerships regarding the relationship between diplomacy and the Caribbean, the Diplomatic Academy provides a unique setting for stakeholders to deepen diplomatic skills/knowledge and enhance policy expertise.

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 resources 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 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 University of the West Indies

The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region.

From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Open Campus, and 10 global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world.

The UWI has been consistently ranked among the top universities globally by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). In the latest World University Rankings 2022, released in September 2021, The UWI moved up an impressive 94 places from last year. In the current global field of some 30,000 universities and elite research institutes, The UWI stands among the top 1.5%.

The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists since its debut in the rankings in 2018. In addition to its leading position in the Caribbean, it is also in the top 20 for Latin America and the Caribbean and the top 100 global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old).  The UWI is also featured among the leading universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action.

For more, visit www.uwi.edu.

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