14
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 2ND NOVEMBER, 2014
OUR CAMPUS
Fluid strokes flow scarlet across the page.
It is the national
bird in flight, a familiar symbol rendered in a most beautiful
and unfamiliar form by the hand of Chinese painter Zhao
Yanbin. Mr. Zhao’s piece was a gift to the President of
Trinidad and Tobago, Anthony Carmona, and his visit to
the nation, alongside calligrapher Yang Chongguang, is both
gift and cultural exchange to art lovers and learners from
the Confucius Institute (CI) at The UWI’s St. Augustine
Campus.
As part of their 10-year anniversary, CI brought the
highly accomplished and acclaimed Chinese artists to
Trinidad and Tobago in late September for a two-week
Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition.
“The purpose of the visit was to hold an exhibition, do a
lecture series and hold workshops,” explainsMeghanGhent,
Secretary of CI. “They exhibited their work and conducted
activities at bothTheUWI andNALIS (theNational Library)
for students interested in learning Chinese calligraphy and
painting.”
The artists were given an opportunity to meet with
President Carmona (an art enthusiast himself ) and
presented him with both the scarlet ibis painting and a
work of calligraphy with the character “longevity”. What was
intended to be a 20-minute visit between the President and
the contingent from CI lasted over an hour.
Both Mr. Zhao and Mr. Yang are extremely respected
artists and teachers in China. Mr. Yang, a professor at Beijing
University, gave workshops on the basics of calligraphy
and “bang shu”, a style appropriate for writing large script.
Mr. Zhao gave workshops on the freehand, flowing and
impressionistic style of Chinese painting. During their 15-
day stay they taught an array of people, including students
from The UWI, primary and secondary school students
and art lovers of all ages with an interest in these exotic (to
the region) styles.
Professor Hu Youzhen, Chinese Director of CI at the
St. Augustine Campus, says activities like the exhibition are
an excellent way of strengthening the ties between China
and Trinidad and Tobago:
“Cultural activities are a very good way to engage an
audience in T&T. Culture is a very good way to learn about
people,” she says.
Brush Stroke Diplomacy
Confucius Institute holds Chinese calligraphy
and painting exhibition and workshop
On October 1, 2014,
The University of the West Indies
(UWI) St. Augustine Campus, in partnership with the
National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd. (NGC),
held the UWI-NGC Research Awards Ceremony. Apart
from recognising the outstanding research achievements
of The UWI, the ceremony was also used to give Letters
of Award to recipients of the UWI-Trinidad and Tobago
Research and Development Impact Fund (RDI Fund).
Established in 2012, the RDI Fund supports research
in the areas of Climate Change and Environmental
Issues; Crime, Violence and Citizen Security; Economic
Diversification and Sector Competitiveness; Finance and
Entrepreneurship; Public Health; and Technology and
Society. The fund supports projects which address some
of the more urgent developmental issues and possess the
capacity to make an impact in the short and medium
term.
Eleven research teams received RDI Fund awards
totalling just over $5 million at the ceremony.
Speaking at the Research Awards Ceremony, Professor
Clement K. Sankat, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus
Principal, said: “Let me say that our RDI Fund, in its
conceptualisation and execution, is a model, the first of its
The Research and Development Impact Fund
kind here in Trinidad and Tobago that others may well wish
to follow. Despite its modesty in terms of capitalisation, the
concept must be the way of the future to build responsible,
competitive societies.”
The successful projects include, among others, research
on the decision-making and economic livelihoods of
school dropout, volcanic emissions monitoring, smart grid
technology, mitigating dementia and neurobehavioural
development in school children.
This was the second call for proposals in the RDI
Fund’s brief history.The 2014 call for proposals was recently
concluded on October 17.
Recipients of the 2013 RDI Fund awards at The UWI-NGC Research Awards Ceremony.
Calligrapher Yang Chongguang
presents a piece of art to
President Carmona.
