WITH a better quality of governance and focus on survival with dignity of the region’s peoples in mind, the University of the West Indies (UWI) has organised a major three-day academic conference for month-end that will involve participation by government policy makers and some of the Caribbean’s leading intellectuals and scholars.

Scheduled for the UWI’s Mona Campus, the ‘2002 Academic Conference’, from August 30-September 1, will have as its central theme: ‘The Governance Challenge — National, Regional and Global Dimension’.

In explaining the background to the conference, Dr Denis Benn, the Michael Manley Professor of Public Affairs and Public Policy at the UWI (Mona), said that the intention is not only to identify the nature of the governance challenge facing the Caribbean and the wider international community, but to seek to identify “strategic options which could inform future policy directions in this important area”.

According to Benn, a number of Caribbean countries have experienced varying degrees of political crisis, derived from the functioning of the system of governance.

Currently, there are ongoing initiatives to foster a creative partnership between government, the private sector and civil society as an important pre-condition for effective governance in Caribbean societies.

Against such efforts, the organisers of the ‘2002 Academic Conference’ hope to benefit from the expected stimulating contributions and plan on publishing a volume of the presentations for the benefit of the public at large on a most important and topical issue — “governance in the age of globalisation”.

The conference will be chaired by UWI chancellor, Sir Shridath Ramphal, and two Caricom prime ministers — St Lucia’s Kenny Anthony and St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Dr Ralph Gonsalves, known for their advocacy of political integration and good governance — will address the opening session on the evening of August 30.

The session on ‘State, Economy and Society’ will feature a presentation by Lloyd Best, the West Indian intellectual regarded as ‘father’ of the ‘New World Movement’ and who was last month chosen by Caricom leaders for the community’s highest honour — the Order of the Caribbean Community. He will speak on ‘Size and Survival: The State in the Age of Globalisation’.

Professor Trevor Munroe, a once controversial left-wing ideologue, will also address the session on ‘Governance Under Threat — The Impact of Corruption’, while Professor Ivelaw Griffith will focus on ‘Caribbean Security in the Age of Terror: Contending with Challenge, Coping with Change’.

This two-part session will also involve, among other presenters: Dr Paul Sutton on ‘Globalisation, Governance and Poverty: The Changing Macro Agenda of Micro Public Sector Reform in the Commonwealth Caribbean’; Professor Barry Chevannes on ‘Governance — A Sociological Perspective’; Professor Ramesh Deosaran on ‘Governance and Social Stability: The Challenge of Poverty’; and Dr Naresh Singh on ‘Governance and Sustainable Development’.

Chairman and managing director of the Gleaner newspaper, Oliver Clarke, and journalist and lecturer John Maxwell will speak respectively on ‘Governance and the Media: Promoting Transparency and Accountability’ and ‘Promoting Good Governance: The Role of the Media’.

On the specific issue of “global governance”, presenters will include: Professor Hilbourne Watson, Professor Norman Girvan, Dr Jessica Byron, Dr Maurice Odle and Dr Taimoon Stewart.

For the session on ‘Theoretical aspects of Governance’, presenters will be professors Clive Thomas, Elsa Leo-Rhynie, Anthony Payne, Neville Duncan and Selwyn Ryan, while professors Roy Augier, Edwin Jones, Locksley Edmondson and Don Marshall will feature in the session on ‘Governance Systems and Structures’.

The final session on ‘Regional Governance’ will have as presenters, Ambassador Dr Havelock Brewster, Professor Vaughan Lewis, Sir Dwight Venner, Ambassador Dr Richard Bernal and Professor Stephen Vasciannie.

Professor Rex Nettleford, vice-chancellor of the UWI, will be the sole presenter for the closing session that is to be chaired by Professor Kenneth Hall.

Recognising the important role of good governance in the development process and in the fostering and maintenance of social stability, the organisers of the forthcoming conference are persuaded that the three-day event would make a most useful contribution in helping to shape the Caribbean’s future.