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November 2014
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Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa, chaired the forum on August 30, which brought together participants from government, business/industry, international organisations and others. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations was also in attendance. Forum participants engaged in discussion on seven key topics – oceans, natural resources, connectivity (ICTs and transport), sustainable agriculture, disaster risk reduction, renewable energy and sustainable tourism. The CTA, under the leadership of Executive Director Michael Hailu, led the forum on sustainable agriculture, which focused on the role of the private sector in reinvigorating the agricultural industries of SIDS. As Principal of The UWI, St. Augustine, I spoke on the need to bring technology and entrepreneurship to bear on agricultural production, so as to make it more attractive, sustainable and profitable, especially for young entrepreneurs. I spoke of the development of an Agricultural Innovation Park at Orange Grove in Trinidad that can demonstrate the convergence of agriculture (particularly protected agriculture), food production and consumption, agri-tourism, research and innovation and private sector-led entrepreneurship. At the SIDS conference, again chaired by the Prime Minister of Samoa and with the participation of several Caribbean prime ministers and ministers, the speeches of all 51 SIDS leaders focused on topics like sustainable tourism, climate change, sustainable energy, disaster risk reduction, oceans and seas, food and nutrition security, social development and many others. CARICOM citizens can certainly identify with many of these issues, but in the Pacific the isolation of islands and the threat of extinction due to rising sea levels and natural disasters are very stark. In going forward, the leaders of SIDS and others present declared their continuing support for the enabling efforts of such states to meet the challenges identified and “to request the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN) to maintain a partnership platform focused on the SIDS and to regularly convene the inter-agency consultation group to report on the full implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action, the Mauritius Strategy and the Samoan Pathway….” For those of us living in SIDS, complacency is not an answer. We should not wait another 12 years to restate some of the same issues and add new ones that will undoubtedly arise, but as countries we must develop the will to tackle many of the issues raised. The UWI, with its talented staff and students, has a major role to play in the development of creative solutions to our current challenges. I could not write about my attendance at SIDS 2014 and not mention three developments that came out of the conference. Firstly, the launch of the online Masters’ Degree in “Sustainable Development of SIDS” – a proud moment for The UWI, as we partnered with six other universities to develop this timely academic programme. Those wanting more information on this relevant programme can contact Dr. David C. Smith at david.smith02@uwimona.edu.jm. Secondly, I visited the National University of Samoa (NUS) and met with its President and Vice Chancellor. I was pleasantly surprised to be joined by two students from Trinidad and Tobago studying at the NUS as well as Samoan students who studied at The UWI. These exchanges were all facilitated by the CARPIMS EU Scholarship programme. For those seeking more information on CARPIMS, contact Sharan Singh at sharan.singh@sta.uwi.edu. Thirdly, on my way back from Samoa and passing through Fiji, I met with the Vice Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific (USP), Professor Rajesh Chandra. USP, with whom we are collaborating on a few projects, is very much patterned after The UWI and is approved by 12 Pacific Island countries. It is only the second regional university in the world after The UWI. Meeting with him and seeing the progress of USP, I could not help but feel that in the far off Pacific Islands, The UWI is spreading its wings. |
In late August and early September, I had the privilege of travelling to Apia, Samoa to participate in events related to the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). While in Samoa, I attended both the Private Sector Partnership Forum on August 30 to 31 and the Third United Nations Conference on SIDS from September 1 to 4. I attended these events in my capacity as Vice Chairman of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), an international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States and the European Union (EU).