Despite the ongoing crises we face, I am pleased to end this year in celebration of an outstanding moment for our Caribbean family - the people of Barbados. On November 30, Barbados officially made the transition to a parliamentary republic and installed the country’s first president, Dame Sandra Mason. The significance of this moment should not be missed.
Since the Independence era of the 1960s, our region has moved, step by step, to greater self-determination, self-sufficiency, and an understanding of ourselves as a people with roots in the Old World, but very much of the New World. It hasn’t always been easy. There have been periods of great turbulence. We are in one now. In fact, it could be said that we are more challenged today than we have ever been before. However, these challenges provide us with the opportunity to grow, to mature, and become more resilient in doing so. Our responses to these challenges define the ethos and culture of the generations that will follow.
Choosing this moment, 55 years after Independence, to, as President Mason said, “fully leave our colonial past behind”, is a powerful affirmation of Barbadian identity, and a resounding statement of ownership of their affairs. It signals that they are in charge of their destiny and empowered to face the challenges of this era.
On behalf of UWI St Augustine, I wish to congratulate the Barbadian people. I wish to salute Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who has been an incredible statesperson with a potent vision for her country and region, and a commanding voice for positive change on the world stage.
I applaud President Mason, who has been an exemplar of Caribbean excellence for many decades, and is well-suited to represent Barbados in the new republic’s highest office.
Closer to home, I congratulate the UWI Cave Hill campus community. We share both regional and institutional bonds. In fact, Dame Mason, like many Caribbean leaders, is herself a graduate of The UWI. This regional institution has been a part of our Caribbean story since the beginning of our postcolonial journey. It is my hope that as Barbados’ relationship with Great Britain diminishes, the republic’s relationship with her regional partners grows stronger.
We are stronger together. No institution proves that to be true more than The UWI. Indeed, this excerpt from a speech by Errol Barrow, first Barbados Prime Minister, at the inaugural graduation ceremony of 1968 at the Cave Hill Campus has been a clarion call for me throughout my term as St Augustine Campus Principal: “…the citizens of the region should be encouraged to regard the university as their most important asset… [and] that the efficient growth of this university is almost their only path to prosperity.”
In this issue of UWI TODAY, we take an in-depth look at the university’s role at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) which took place from October 31 to November 12. UWI experts supported our governments, and made invaluable scientific and policy contributions at the conference.
Well before COP26, UWI scholars such as St Augustine’s Prof John Agard have been leaders in the international mission to curb climate change and preserve the natural world. As a region, we face acute danger to our economies and communities. Rising temperatures lead to rising sea levels, a threat to our coastal towns and villages. Damage to and depletion of our forests, rivers and hills, and the abundance of species that live in these places, can and very likely will have negative effects on our way of life.
In fact, most scientists believe that COVID-19 is at least partially a consequence of our encroachment on the natural world. At present, despite T&T’s efforts to eliminate the virus, we are in its worst wave. In the face of this ongoing pandemic, I can only repeat what has been said many times – get vaccinated, practise social distancing, wear a mask, take care of your mental and emotional well-being, and above all, do not lose faith.
Look to the positive, and find moments of celebration. Like the people of Barbados, who in these trying times chose to boldly affirm their independence and identity, we should use this time to advance, not retreat. Embedded in the message of self-determination is a statement of hope, and a conviction that the capacity to solve problems resides at home. COVID-19, climate change, economic slowdowns, social ills – whatever the challenge, Caribbean people can find and implement the solution. This is the belief upon which The UWI was built.
