September 2012


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COTE 2012: Life after 50

By Timothy Woolford

It has been said that an expert is not someone who is highly trained, qualified or even ably skilled, but rather someone who has made every possible mistake and so knows exactly what not to do. It may be argued that one never truly reaches the mark of being an expert, but rather grows in expertise over time. From an economic standpoint the same can be said of the concept of development. Much has been said on this concept and yet no definition of the term has come to be universally accepted as a norm to which all countries aspire. Instead many nations are called to answer the simple question posed by J.L. Anderson “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

It is along these lines that the Conference on the Economy (COTE 2012) has been organized. The theme of this year’s conference“50 years of Managing for Development in an Ever-changing Economic Environment: Lessons Learnt and the Way Forward,” highlights its significance, particularly as the nation marks its golden anniversary of independence.

COTE 2012 will begin with a feature address by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago Ewart Williams. The honoree this year is Professor Compton Bourne, former Head of the Department of Economics and a former Principal of the St. Augustine Campus of The UWI. Professor Bourne was President of the Caribbean Development Bank for 10 years and served as a former Director of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. He is currently Executive Director of the Caribbean Centre for Money and Finance.

The Conference will continue what it initiated last year in featuring an essay competition for secondary schools as well as a debate competition for undergraduate students of the Campus. Postgraduate students can participate in a poster competition.

This annual event of the UWI St. Augustine, Department of Economics will take place at the Learning Resource Centre on the St. Augustine Campus, with the main conference set for October 11 and 12. There will be evening sessions each day, and topics to be discussed are “Education and Workforce Development” and “Civil Society and Social Economics.” The evening sessions are free and open to all.