Inter-American Development Bank backs UWI

 

Hilary Beckles right and President Mauricio Claver-Carone

The University of the West Indies and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support joint research and strategic initiatives linked to digital transformation, climate change and resilience.

The MoU will build upon a solid partnership that has continued to grow and strengthen, according to  Dr Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Affairs at UWI.

She noted that the Caribbean is battling a convergence of potentially debilitating forces – COVID 19, climate change, chronic diseases, crime and violence, among others.

“Without a doubt, if we are to effectively address the urgent and pressing needs of Caribbean societies, our joint initiatives moving forward will need to be big, bold and impactful,” Richard-Kennedy said.

Commenting on the partnership during a signing ceremony on Thursday, UWI Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles shared that he observed the IDB President’s Vision 2025 Plan aligns closely with UWI’s Triple-A Strategic Plan.

“The issues that are important to us are important to IDB — the common academic spine, the common activist approach to finding solutions not just academically, but finding practical solutions to some of these big issues, digital transformation, climate change and the impact on our economies, gender, justice and equality.”

“This new phase of the IDB’s cooperation with The University West Indies is a big step forward to strengthen our ties with the Caribbean, which is a top personal and institutional priority for the Inter-American Development Bank,” IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone stated.

He also signalled that the institutions would explore opportunities with IDB Invest, which he said if materialised, “can be game-changing for The UWI, helping you to be more financially, self-sustaining”.

The agreement between the two institutions will also foster further cooperation under the umbrella of #BIDAcademy, the IDB’s centralised knowledge hub for providing the public with access to development-related knowledge and learning resources.