Letter of the Day | Building bridges between Africa Union and CARICOM

THE EDITOR, Madam:

September 7, 2023 will mark two years since the first CARICOM-Africa Union (AU) Summit, hosted by Kenya. The first Summit of Heads decided to establish for celebration, September 7th of every year, as Africa-CARICOM Day.

The PJ Patterson Institute for Africa Caribbean Public Advocacy strongly supports the opportunity it presents for activities geared at greater African and Caribbean unity.

The Caribbean and the African continent share a similar history of an oppressive, exploitative experience. In our most recent history of Independence, CARICOM and Africa were supportive of each other and drew inspiration from the works of individuals that advocated for freedom and instilled the hopes of the Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who declared, “Africa for the Africans at home or abroad”.

Since our independence, CARICOM and the AU nations have had many fora within which their representatives have discussed and made several agreements, such as the African, Caribbean and the Pacific Group of States since the 1970s.

The CARICOM-AU Summit of 2021 was the most significant for present and future cooperation and unification. The spheres for cooperation in education, tourism, technology and knowledge exchange, economic transformation, governance, and the creative industries are many and prospects of rewards so great, that it is long overdue for an entrenchment to be made for this purpose.

In support of Africa-CARICOM Day, the PJ Patterson Institute for Africa Caribbean Public Advocacy will be collaborating with the Office of the Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (UWI) and its entities the Office of Global Affairs and the Centre for Reparation Research, to host the first Africa-CARICOM Day Seminar at the Regional Headquarters of The University of the West Indies on September 7 at 9:30 EST, which will be broadcast on UWI TV and CARICOM YouTube and Facebook channels.

The public is invited to watch and participate from wherever you are on the African continent, in the Caribbean, or in the diaspora in this seminal event that will feature participation from Vice-Chancellor of the UWI, Sir Hilary Beckles; Statesman-In-Residence at the PJ Patterson Institute for Africa Caribbean Public Advocacy, the Most Honourable P.J. Patterson; Secretary General of CARICOM Dr Carla Barnett; noted academics and public officials and student leaders.

The PJ Patterson Institute for Africa Caribbean Public Advocacy is committed to the cause of building bridges between nations and the people of the AU and CARICOM to engage in activities which will promote a truly symbolic relationship.

This seminar is intended to be a building block in the process of forging unity between our nations and people.

P.J. PATTERSON

Statesman-In-Residence

The PJ Patterson Institute

for Africa Caribbean

Public Advocacy