[dropcap]R[/dropcap]egional Headquarters, Jamaica. Monday, October 09, 2017. The University of the West Indies (UWI) announces the official launch of the recently established Centre for Reparation Research (CRR), the first of its kind in the academy. The launch event will be held at The UWI Mona Visitors’ Lodge & Conference Centre, Jamaica on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 starting at 5:30 p.m. It will feature keynote speaker, Ms. Samia Nkrumah, daughter of the late President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. Several leaders of national reparation committees from across the CARICOM region are expected to be in attendance.
The launch will be followed by an exhibition of art and artifacts from the slavery era and an all-day symposium on October 11 at the Mona Visitors’ Lodge & Conference Centre. Titled “Post-Independence Cross Roads: Economic Growth, Sustainable Societies and Reparatory Justice”, this symposium will interrogate key issues such as—Who should clean up the colonial mess left at the time of independence? Can there be sustainable development of the Caribbean without reparatory justice and what historical lessons can we draw from the widespread destruction of some Caribbean islands by the recent hurricanes? The discourse, which runs from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. encompasses a lineup of notable speakers including The UWI Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles; Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. The Hon. Ralph Gonsalves; Programme Manager, Culture & Community Development at CARICOM Secretariat, Dr. Hilary Brown as well as Professors Verene Shepherd, Horace Campbell, Carolyn Cooper, Opal Palmer Adisa, and Brian Meeks; Dr. Julius Garvey; Dr. Michael Witter; Dr. Joyce Hope Scott; Sister Nanny; Ras Ika; Emprezz Golding, and others.
