Outstanding Caribbean academics honoured

Two outstanding Caribbean academics were honoured posthumously last week for their sterling contributions not only to economic and trade matters in the region, but also towards the development of the civil society movement in the Caribbean.

Professors Norman Girvan and Dennis Pantin were lauded by the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), the regional umbrella of civil society organizations, as it celebrated its 25th anniversary in Georgetown, Guyana.{{more}} The formal occasion was the launching of a regional civil society project, aimed at strengthening Caribbean civil society organizations and funded by the European Union.

The gathering was addressed by Dr Cristobal Delgado, the head of the Overseas Countries Territories (OCT) and Trinidad Section of the EU Delegation in Guyana and Eugene Petty, director of Development Cooperation of the CARIFORUM Directorate, as well as CPDC executive director Shantal Munro-Knight.

Both Professors Girvan and Pantin have made invaluable contributions towards Caribbean

economic thought and development at their respective campuses of The University of the West Indies and in the wider society in general. They were also instrumental in helping to guide Caribbean civil society in advocacy matters, especially in relation to trade and development issues.

The CPDC also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the work of a quartet of long-standing civil society advocates, all female.

Outgoing CPDC chair Renwick Rose presented plaques of appreciation to former CPDC executive coordinator Cecilia Babb, former chairs Judith Wedderburn and Nelcia Robinson and veteran gender activist Hazel Brown.

The CPDC’s 25th anniversary activities will continue over the year and other outstanding contributors are to be honoured in the process.