The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. W.I. Friday, May 28, 2021— In a global conversation about partnership for development, hosted by the Clinton Global Initiative during its sixth Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery, The University of the West Indies was commended as an institution that had earned trust and partner confidence. The UWI’s reputation for delivery as a premier research engine in areas such as public health and climate action was also lauded.
Representing The UWI in the virtual roundtable “Leading the Way: Climate Resilience in the Caribbean,” on May 26 was Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Director of University Office of Global Partnerships and Sustainable Futures, who engaged with representatives from leading international foundations, funding agencies and private sector corporations. The private, invitation-only session was organised to highlight opportunities for philanthropies and institutional donors to advance innovative community resilience and climate change mitigation approaches through investments in Caribbean organisations and projects.
Speaking on the importance of global partnerships to strengthen resilience in the Caribbean, Dr. Richards-Kennedy shared that The UWI, as the Caribbean’s leading higher education institution has developed a distinctive global partnership strategy. “In addition to teaching, research and the production of knowledge, UWI has gone a step further to prioritise knowledge brokerage by establishing an office that connects knowledge to opportunities for multi-stakeholder development solutions that will impact lives. “As an activist university, The UWI is committed not only to building partnerships, but partnerships that are driven by passion and purpose,” she said. “We consider ourselves an SDG-engaged university and global partnerships allow us to expand the opportunities available to our faculty and to our students, by joining forces with collaborators who are committed to Caribbean development.”
In his closing remarks, Greg Milne, Chief Executive Officer of the Clinton Foundation emphasized the need to continue the dialogue to move the needle collectively, particularly in the critical areas of climate action and economic diversification in the Caribbean region.
About the Clinton Foundation
Building on a lifetime of public service, President Clinton established the Clinton Foundation on the simple belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed, everyone has a responsibility to act, and we all do better when we work together. For nearly two decades, those values have energized the work of the Foundation in overcoming complex challenges and improving the lives of people across the United States and around the world. As an operating foundation, it works on issues directly or with strategic partners from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors to create economic opportunity, improve public health, and inspire civic engagement and service. Its programs are designed to make a real difference today while serving as proven models for tomorrow. The goal of every effort is to use available resources to get better results faster – at the lowest possible cost. It is the foundation’s firm believe that when diverse groups of people bring resources together in the spirit of true cooperation, transformative ideas will emerge to drive life-changing action. Learn more at http://www.clintonfoundation.org
About The UWI
The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region.
From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Open Campus, and 10 global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world.
Ranked among the top universities in the world, by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education, The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists. In 2020, it earned ‘Triple 1st’ rankings—topping the Caribbean; and in the top in the tables for Latin America and the Caribbean, and global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old). The UWI is also featured among the top universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action.
For more, visit www.uwi.edu.
