News Releases

UWI Diplomatic Academy Strengthens Caribbean States’ Institutional Capacity in Consular Affairs

For Release Upon Receipt - March 15, 2022

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago.  Tuesday 15 March 2022 – The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean (DAOC) continues to meet the consular affairs capacity-building needs primarily of Ministries of Foreign Affairs in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), playing host to its upcoming four-day long online training module entitled Advances in Consular Affairs in the Modern Diplomatic Mission: A Caribbean Perspective. This highly acclaimed module, taking place for the second year in a row, runs from March 21st – 24th. For the most part, participants are Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, who hail from Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

“The Diplomatic Academy remains committed to addressing its core constituency’s upskilling needs in the specialized area of consular affairs, helping to position a new generation of career Foreign Service Officers to hone and apply new skills and competencies regarding the effective management of consular and diplomatic functions in the twenty-first century,” said DAOC Manager, Dr. Nand C. Bardouille. He noted, “The constancy of the traditional responsibilities of Consulates is there for all to see, but new challenges arising in our interconnected world give renewed impetus to revisit responsibilities and approaches necessary to achieve the goals of the consular function. In an era of ever-increasing complexity with regard to policy issues of import to CARICOM states—from migration, to human trafficking and the wide-ranging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region, among others—it behoves the consular officer/agent to keep abreast of the state of the art and best practice in the profession; hence this module offering.”   

Amid new and emerging trends in the twenty-first century, this consular affairs module contributes to a better understanding of the assistance function, the changing mercantile function, consular governance, relationships with the Diaspora and locating consular affairs within the diplomatic function from a Caribbean point of view. This module also focuses on the impact of crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic on consular affairs generally and specifically, within the Caribbean context.   

Ms. Gail P. Guy, a retired diplomat and protocol consultant, is the lead facilitator of this second edition of the module. Dr. Natalie Dietrich Jones—Research Fellow at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at The UWI Mona, specializing in migration, governance and border geographies—is the co-facilitator. This teaching team played a lead role in the development of the curriculum for the inaugural module, having also taught that module.

The second edition of the module has two broad subject-specific dimensions, with Ms. Guy responsible for teaching the first thematic component of the training, while Dr. Dietrich Jones has responsibility for the second and final part. The teaching method of this module aligns with the first iteration, integrating into the interactive, participant-centered seminar format an expert-led roundtable on consular affairs. The panellists, whose real-world skills and experience will feature, are seasoned professionals of the diplomatic and public service. The pedagogy also incorporates virtual group activities, which afford an opportunity for learners to apply newly-acquired skills in real time and the facilitators to assess participants’ performance and learning in the module.

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About the Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean (DAOC) 

The DAOC is the Caribbean's premier professional development-oriented diplomatic studies centre. An integral part of The University of the West Indies' (UWI) 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 UWI 

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. 

(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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