Civil Society Conference on CARICOM shifts to Guyana

BRIDGETOWN — The high-level Conference of Civil Society on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), originally scheduled for Barbados on April 29-30, has been shifted to Guyana and will now be held on the eve of this year’s annual CARICOM Summit in Georgetown on July 2-3.

The change in time and venue was done, according to the Community Secretariat, to ensure “maximum participation” by the major stakeholders in the region’s social and economic advancement, with a particular focus on working together to achieve the objectives of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).

When the April 29-30 date was fixed, it was overlooked that there would have been a clash in arrangements for the annual observance of May Day that would have resulted in the absence of a number of CARICOM leaders as well as officials of the region’s labour movement.

Further, April 29 is now observed as a national holiday in Barbados to celebrate National Heroes Day.

But with the agreement of Barbados and Guyana, in co-operation with the Community Secretariat, alternative arrangements are now being made for the Civil Society Conference to begin on July 2, on the eve of the CARICOM Summit and conclude on the afternoon of the following day ahead of the ceremonial opening of the summit meeting.

A full house of political, business and labour leaders are expected to participate in the conference, in addition to representatives from the community of non-governmental organisations.Critical assessments of CARICOM are expected from the private sector and NGOs.

Passing of Sybil Lewis

SAN JUAN — Sybil Lewis, the Trinidad-born wife of the late Caribbean historian, Gordon Lewis, died in hospital here after suffering a cardiac arrest. Mother of five, she was ailing for some time.

Sybil, described by her late husband as the “Belle Creole of my West Indian sojourn” in his book The Growth of the Modern West Indies that was dedicated to her, was buried Tuesday following a funeral service at which she was eulogised by her three sisters, Pearl, Rosie and Jackie.

The former Sybil Ernestine Farrell, she is well known in regional academic circles and for her work as editor of the publications of the Institute of Caribbean Studies in Puerto Rico where she and her husband lived for many years with their five children.

While at the Institute she was invited, as recalled by her sisters, by then Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Eric Williams, to discuss with him books in English, French and Spanish on Caribbean politics and literature.

In their eulogy, her sisters recalled that Sybil was “truly the inspiration behind Gordon’s prolific writings” and had completely dedicated herself to caring for the children to give her husband the freedom he needed for his scholarly works for which he is famous.