4
UWI TODAY 100
TH
ISSUE
– SUNDAY 17 DECEMBER, 2017
CAMPUS NEWS
As he greeted participants
at the opening of the Caribbean
Research Consultation on the Future of Work, Campus
Principal, Professor Brian Copeland, reminded them that
they knew about Trinidad and Tobago’s ageing population.
“Take that together with global trends to lower birth rates
and increasing lifespans and we understand clearly why
the National Insurance Board is already implementing
measures to ensure preservation of the fund in the interest
of current and future working generations. You’ve probably
already worked out the statistics behind it all. Pair these
sobering factors with weak investment channels and we
are heading up a creek without a paddle. Or, are we already
there?”
The Principal went on to talk about how quickly
technology was changing. “How are we, as a people, seizing
the opportunity to be a leader of that revolution and make
it work for us where the world is our market? I am a firm
believer that technology can be the driving force as well
as the fuel to grow the much needed spirit of innovation
and entrepreneurship across our country and region.
For, make no mistake; in considering the future of work
in the Caribbean, the fostering of entrepreneurship and
innovation is essential if we are to truly achieve decent
work for all.”
This Consultation on December 4, came about
because the International Labour Organization (ILO)
and its members have implemented a Future of Work
Initiative to run until the centennial International Labour
Conference in 2019. The idea is to better understand the
transformational changes taking place in the world of work
and to understand the processes of change so as to respond
effectively. Against this backdrop, the ILO Decent Work
Team and Office for the Caribbean together with the ILO
Research Department, in partnership with the Sir Arthur
Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES)
at The UWI were interested in determining the current
knowledge on selected key themes – as well as research
orientation in the region for the near future – with the
ultimate goal of determining research gaps and address
them in the most suitable way.
Campus Principal, Professor Brian Copeland with Minister of
Labour and Small Enterprise Development , Jennifer Baptiste-
Primus, who also addressed the consultation.
The Future of Work
Addressing the opening as well, the Director of the
ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean, Ms.
Claudia Coenjaerts, said, “In the past year, 110 member
states took up the invitation to undertake national dialogues
on the Future of Work in 2016. These dialogues, were
structured around four themes: (1) work and society; work
is not only for material needs but also has a crucial social
function; (2) decent jobs for all; where will the jobs come
from especially for young people? (3) the organization of
work and production; how do we respond to global supply
chains, changing enterprises and the digital economy and
(4) the governance of work; what kind of social contract
do we decide for? Which rules, processes and institutions
do we need to ensure social and labour protections and
equitable redistribution?”
She asked participants to “help us articulate what are
the key transitions and issues in the Caribbean in relation
to the role of work in society, the creation of decent jobs
for all, emerging ways of organizing work and production,
and the governance of work in the Caribbean.”
Last month,
the UWI Development and
Endowment Fund handed out bursaries to 10UWI
Star Scholars for their academic performance and
co-curricular studies, and 200 other recipients who
earned bursaries based on academic performance
and financial need.
Here’s some of what Campus Principal,
Professor Brian Copeland, told the audience.
“
When The UWI Development and
Endowment Fund was established in 1989, its
primary aim was to enable the University to
provide scholarships at the Undergraduate and
Postgraduate levels so as to alleviate the financial
hardships of deserving students. At that time, the
Caribbean and Latin America were in the midst
of what was called the ‘Debt Crisis’ – incomes and
imports dropped; economic growth stagnated;
unemployment rose; and inflation reduced the
buying power of the middle classes. Sound
familiar?
Almost 30 years later, we are back in that
cycle. Now, though, the economic downturn is
coupled with the devastation wrought by climate
change with increasingly severe storms in the
Caribbean region. Sometimes, it almost seems as
if all we can manage to do is to tread water.
In those early days, the UWIDEF teamed
up with the Massy Group to arrange a series
of fund-raising tours by the Trinidad All Stars
Steel Orchestra to the United Kingdom where
they played before Princess Anne at Harrod’s, to
Jamaica, and then to Barbados.
Now, of course, these initiatives have been
replaced with two signature annual events – The
UWI Fete and UWI Golf Challenge. I have
absolutely no doubt that we’ll be hearing more
today about our 2018 Fete theme: the Secret
Garden!
Both events have translated into a steady
increase in funds available for these much needed
and appreciated Bursaries. Consider that in 1992,
the UWIDEF offered 19 Bursaries; today, we will
be presenting 210! My thanks to everyone – both
on the execution as well as the participation sides -
for their solid support inmaking these fundraising
activities a success every year.
”
OnNovember 28, 2017
His ExcellencyAmbassador
Doo-Young Lee of Korea and Campus Principal,
Professor BrianCopeland, extended the relationship
between The UWI and the Embassy of Korea with
the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
and officially launching the Korea Corner.
The Korea Corner interactive display is a space
within The UWI’s Centre for Language Learning
(CLL) Self-Access Facility. Users interested in Korea
can consult literature and digital resources with
information about the Republic. The space which
features print material, English-Korean translation
software and an entertainment centre, is sponsored
by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.
His Excellency Ambassador Doo-Young Lee looks on as
Campus Principal, Professor Brian Copeland, samples an
English-Korean translation.
PHOTO: ATIBA CUDJOE
KOREA CORNER
210
BURSARIES
THIS YEAR
