Lennox Linton Reflects on the State of our Nation - 2011
DAAS Honours DR. Clayton Arthur SHILLINGFORD, PH.D.
Portsmouth Vendors in Disgust By works of Town Council and Parl. Rep
August 05, 2011 - DAAS/De Fillip Summer Internships
On July 29, the Dominica State College (DSC) students Jeanne Royer and Dwight Degonzague from Agriculture & Biology completed the DAAS/De Filipps Summer Internships at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History . They were accompanied by instructor Mrs. Sharon Allicock-Joseph, Faculty of Applied Arts & Technology
L-R: Jeanne Royer, Dr. Thomson FOntaine, Mrs. Sharon Allicock-Joseph, Dwight Degonzague.
For the thirteen students who applied for the Internship, the selection was based on evaluation of an essay "The Value of the Smithsonian as an Institution of Learning" as well as a wide ranging interview.
The students and Mrs Joseph worked on two projects, one titled "Digitization of West Indian Plant Specimen Records Contributing to Target One and Target Two of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation". Focus was on entering data on locality information of the 5000 or so herbarium specimens that were collected from Dominica during the Bredin- Archbold-Smithsonian Biological Survey of Dominica in the 60's and digitisation of the West Indies plant collection. The work was guided principally by Dr Gary Krupnick, Plant Conservation Project Lead and Vinita Gowda..The group also had the opportunity of viewing other interesting biological displays at the Institution and other points of interest in the Washington area..including the Airspace and Art Museums, the White House and the War & Lincoln Memorials.
DAAS and Dominica's relations with the Smithsonian Institution continue. The current July- September issue of The Plant Press published by the Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution & the US National Herbarium features a report titled Island Explorations & Evolutionary Investigations by Vinita Gowda. She presents a summary of her graduate research on the plant-pollinator interactions between the plant species Heliconia bihae and H caribbea (the Balisiers) and purple throated humming birds on the islands of St Kitts, Dominica and St Vincent
DAAS expresses its thanks to the staff of the Smithsonian Institution and especially Dr Krupnick, and Dr John Kress, Director for Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet, for hosting the DSC students on this the second year of the Internships and to Dr Thomson Fontaine who provided accommodation at his home to the two students.. Mrs Joseph was put up in a hotel near by.
The students are now expected to write a comprehensive report on their internship
Dominican Irwin LaRocque named new Secretary General of CARICOM
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JULY 21ST 2011 (CUOPM) – Chairman of the Caribbean Community, St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas Thursday announced that His Excellency Ambassador Irwin LaRocque has been selected to serve as the seventh Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) by the Heads of Government.
Ambassador LaRocque was educated at Queen’s College, and the New School for Social Research, both in New York and New York University, majored in Political Philosophy, Political Economics and Economics respectively. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary-General, he served as Permanent Secretary in various Ministries in Dominica for more than fourteen years, including in the Ministries of Trade, Industry, Enterprise Development, Tourism, and Foreign Affairs, where he headed the diplomatic service. He also served as the principal advisor to the Government of Dominica on all matters pertaining to economic integration and regional and international trade. He was Dominica's senior policy adviser on the revision of the original Treaty of Chaguaramas and served on the CARICOM Inter-Governmental Task Force which drafted the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. Ambassador LaRocque has a wealth of experience in management, public administration, economic development, trade, foreign affairs and diplomacy. During the period when Dominica underwent a structural adjustment programme, Ambassador LaRocque was a member of the Cabinet-appointed Public Sector Reform Task Force, which included the private sector, trade unions and non-governmental organisations, with responsibility for the overall management, planning and performance review of the public sector reform process. He also served as the Chairman of the Consultative Working Group, a public/private sector consultative and advisory committee appointed by the Dominica Cabinet, with focus on the enabling environment for private sector development and growth.
He has served on several Boards, including those of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, Caribbean Export, the Dominica Agricultural, Industrial and Development Bank, and the Dominica National Development Corporation. As Assistant Secretary-General, he has provided strategic leadership for the continuing implementation and further development of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), as well as the Sectoral Programmes of the Community including agriculture, services, industry and energy. Ambassador LaRocque has managed diplomatic negotiations with third countries and international development partners which required political acumen for successful completion. He has testified, on behalf of the Community, before the US International Trade Commission on trade relations between the Caribbean and the US with emphasis on extending and expanding the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI). He is currently the Co-Chair of the US-CARICOM Trade and Investment Council and is leading the negotiations with the United States Trade Representative Office for a new Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. He has gained considerable experience with the European arrangements through his involvement in developing and negotiating with the Commission of the European Union, development assistance under the European Development Fund. Ambassador LaRocque’s experience in national public sector reform will be critical in the reform and restructuring process of the CARICOM Secretariat, which is currently in progress. Ambassador LaRocque has served and had a close working relationship with several Prime Ministers of his homeland, and also in the Region by interacting with and providing advice to various Heads of Government and Cabinets in his capacity as Assistant Secretary General. The CARICOM Chairman said: “My colleague Heads of Government and I believe that Ambassador LaRocque possesses the requisite skills of visionary leadership, courage and commitment required to guide the Community at this time of change and uncertainty.” Secretary-General-designate LaRocque in his reaction expressed his deep appreciation for the confidence reposed in him by the Heads of Government.
