News Releases

The Commonwealths in the Second Decade of the 21st Century

For Release Upon Receipt - November 20, 2009

St. Augustine


As participants in the Commonwealth People’s Forum (CPF) and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) arrive in Trinidad and Tobago with a variety of proposals, The University of the West Indies (UWI) will host a workshop that offers an opportunity for them to explain their research and policy suggestions.

The workshop, titled “The Commonwealths in the Second Decade of the 21st Century,” will be hosted by the UWI Institute of International Relations (IIR), in association with The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI), The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), The Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI), The Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU), the Commonwealth Women’s Network (CWN) and The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS). This event is scheduled to take place on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st November from 9.30am to 5.30pm, and on Sunday 22nd November, from 9.30am to 3.30pm, in the IIR Boardroom.

This workshop will include presentations on a spectrum of topics, ranging from the economy and polity, to the ecology and the place of the inter- & non-governmental Commonwealth in the next decade. Keynote addresses will be delivered by Professor Jane Kelsey, University of Auckland Law School, and Eduardo del Buey, Director of Communications & Public Affairs, Commonwealth Secretariat. Professor Kelsey will deliver her address, titled ‘The Political Economy of Trade in Services Agreements: serving whose interests?’ on Friday 20th November and Mr. Buey will present on ‘Virtual Diplomacy in the New Century/Decade,’ on Saturday 21st November.

The event is free and open to the public.

To find out more, please contact Tim Shaw at 662-2002 ext 2010, or via e-mail at timothy.shaw@sta.uwi.edu.

 

About the Institute of International Relations  

The Institute of International Relations (IIR) @ The University of The West Indies (UWI) is situated on the St. Augustine Campus in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The UWI IIR houses the most comprehensive collection of information resources in the world on the international relations of the Caribbean. The postgraduate Institute publishes the Journal of Caribbean International Relations, offers excellent research, teaching and consultative assistance to all stakeholders, and organises, sponsors or co-sponsors workshops, conferences and seminars relevant to the international relations challenges of the region. The mission of the Institute is to enhance understanding of Caribbean international relations, applying multidisciplinary perspectives, while contributing to related regional and national human resource development needs. Established in October 1966, IIR offers Diploma & MPhil/PhD in International Relations & MSc in Global Studies. It is proud of its more than 1,100 alums and recently hosted ACUNS’ 22nd AGM (see www.acuns.org). In 2008/9 it offered its MSc at ADEK in Suriname. IIR postgrads undertake annual study tours to Georgetown (CARICOM), Suriname (SADEK), Cuba and/or Panama. The Institute has close working links with the ACS, ECLAC, ILO, UNDP, UNIC & UNATT among others in Port of Spain and in 2009 has been involved in events around the Fifth Summit of Americas and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). 

 

About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with over 50 physical site locations across the region, serving over 20 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Pure & Applied Sciences, Science and Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

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