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Anthony and Mitchell PRIME Ministers Kenneth Anthony of St. Lucia and Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada will both participate in the opening ceremony of the Mona Academic Conference tomorrow evening at the Mona Campus, University of the West Indies.
Both Prime Ministers will address guests who will participate in the conference under the theme 'Human resource development for competitive advantage: the challenges of health, education and employment relations.'
Participants will include academics, employers, trade unionists, students and educators from across the Caribbean, as well as North America and Europe.
The launch of two books published by the University of the West Indies is another highlight of the Conference and will also take place during the opening ceremony. The books, Contending with Destiny; the Caribbean in the 21st century and Globalisation: A calculus of inequality, have both been edited by Professor Kenneth Hall, Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal of UWI, Mona and Professor Dennis Benn, Michael Manley Professor of Public Affairs/Public Policy, UWI, Mona.
Both books contain research papers presented by a number of Caribbean and international academics, business professionals and politicians, Globalisation: the Calculus of inequality draws on papers presented at, and written specifically for the international symposium entitled, 'Globalisa-tion A Strategic Response from the South,' organised by the UWI.
In the foreword to the book, UWI Chancellor, Sir Shridath Ramphal said that the publication was very timely as it "offers perspectives from the South on globalisation and economic liberalisation, highlighting the particular consequences of these phenomena to the developing countries".
In the preface to Contending with Destiny: the Caribbean in the 21st century, Professor Kenneth Hall noted that the book contains "a number of practical proposals for responding to the challenges facing the region". He said that the book would therefore serve as a reference on a number of important issues relevant to contemporary realities as well as future possibilities for the Caribbean. The book includes papers presented at the conference, 'The Caribbean in the 21st century', organised by UWI, Mona in 1999.
The opening ceremony will begin two full days of discussions on Saturday and Sunday with a number of local, regional and international presenters. International presenters will include Professor P.K. Edwards, Director of the Industrial Relations Unit at the University of Warwick, England, who will present a paper on 'New management practices and the challenge for trade union in advanced industrial economies.'
Other overseas presenters include Professor Anil Verma and Professor Morley Gunderson of the University of Toronto; Mr. Kieran Mulvey of the Labour Relations Commission, Ireland; Dr. Juan Antonio Casas, Director of the Division of Health and Human Development at the Pan America Health Organisation (PAHO).
Dr. Roodal Moonilal of the Office of the Prime Minister, Trinidad will participate in the discussion on Trade Unions and the Transformation of Caribbean Industrial Relations, Professor Andrew Downes and Dr. Lawrence Nurse of UWI, Cave Hill Campus; Professor C.Y. Thomas of the University of Guyana and Dr. Leon Higgs, president of the College of the Bahamas will also make presentations.
Local presenters include Dr. Neville Ying, president of the Jamaica Employers Federation; Ms. Donna Duncan CEO of Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited and Mr. Lloyd Goodleigh, president of the Caribbean Congress of Labour.
UWI, Mona academics and researchers will also present a variety of papers at the conference. They will include Professor Errol Miller, head of the Institute of Education; Professor Errol Morrison, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean, School of Graduate Studies and Research and Dr. Denise Eldemire-Shearer, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Community Health and Psychiatry and Director of WHO/PAHO Collaborating Centre on Ageing and Health.
The opening ceremony will take place at the Undercroft of the Senate building on Friday, September 1, while presentations and panel discussions will take place in the Social Sciences Lecture Theatre, Faculty of Social Sciences on Saturday and Sunday.
Persons interested in attending the conference may call the Conference Secretariat at 977-3828 or e-mail them at carre@uwimona.edu.jm. They may also visit the conference web site at www.soc.uwimona.edu.jm:1104/economics/conf2000. to read abstracts from some of the papers to be presented.
