News Releases

UWI St. Augustine Campus Principal calls for Preservation of First Peoples' Traditional Knowledge

For Release Upon Receipt - August 19, 2022

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago. Friday August 19, 2022- “It is no longer disputed that the brutal march of history robbed the world, of valuable contributions of our indigenous peoples, particularly in relation to sustainable models of development based on their traditional knowledge sources.  Indigenous Peoples’ rights focus on Remembering, Recognising, Reclaiming those contributions,” said Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, The UWI St. Augustine Campus. She was invited to deliver the feature address at the celebration of International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples held under the theme The Role of Indigenous Women in the Preservation and Transmission of Traditional Knowledge. The event hosted by the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community (SRFPC) took place at their Headquarters in Arima on August 9th 2022.

“We all know the history: The so-called civilized, imperialistic Western world came, with their ideas of superiority, military might, and different World view – to these harmonious lands of beauty. They plundered, pillaged, perpetuated cultural loss, violated rights and changed the course of history as they committed genocide,” said Professor Antoine.  She urged the audience to focus on the present and explained how this dishonourable history can be used to reclaim traditional knowledge through affirming a legal identity for First Peoples; Reparations; and Including First Peoples in a Green-Climate Smart Agenda and Just transition.

Please click here to read Professor Antoine’s feature address in its entirety. 

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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