UWItv Global to the rescue

(From Left) Ms. Marilyn Sealy, Senior Manager, Communications, Southern Caribbean, Flow; Jenson Sylvester, Country Manager, Flow Barbados; Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor, The UWI; and Ms Janet Caroo, Managing Director, UWItv.
UWItv has been central to the institution's ability to pivot with agility to seamlessly operate within a virtual environment, providing essential services to enable business continuity amid the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic. UWItv has centred itself within the successful hosting of significant, 'first-ever online' projects and initiatives inclusive of Graduation and Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Excellence Ceremonies, University and Campus Councils and other critical governance meetings. UWItv has also powered an exciting suite of public education content in support of major outreach programmes such as The UWI's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. UWItv has offered innovative products and services to support the University's broader outreach agenda in myriad ways.

UWItv continues to provide public information services and education and training programmes that reflect the roles and responsibilities of The UWI as the premier intellectual engine of the region. The primary objective of UWItv is to present critical analyses of the common issues, concerns and socio-economic priorities in our region and the wider Caribbean diaspora.

During the reporting period, UWItv embarked on a series of initiatives strategically aligned with The UWI Triple A strategy 2017–2022. These are evidenced by UWItv's internal and external partnerships agreements and working relations with faculty, staff, numerous governments and stakeholders both regionally and internationally.

24-hour Cable TV Channel

In October 2019, UWItv embarked on a ground-breaking industry-academic partnership agreement with FLOW which provided The UWI with its own 24/7 cable channel across 15 regional territories including: Grenada, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Cayman, Anguilla, The Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, Turks & Caicos, Dominica, British Virgin Islands, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda and Curaçao.

Through this partnership agreement, academia and industry have been strategically linked. With the UWItv- Flow Evo connection, The UWI's integration through education mandate is now intensified, as classrooms and living rooms can now converge, and quality Caribbean centred educational content can be shared unapologetically and uninterrupted throughout the region.

Access through social media platforms

UWItv has also ensured greater access through its social media platforms. During the period, its Facebook page reached over 651,000 people with over 213,000 engagements. UWItv has also increased its access through its presence on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram.

UWItv Website

Similarly, the UWItv website (https://uwitv.org/) facilitates live-streamed and recorded public lectures, conferences, symposiums, faculty interviews and other pertinent events hosted by the wider UWI community. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, UWItv has utilised its partnership agreement with the United Nations (UN) to provide a rebroadcast of the daily World Health Organization and UN press briefings on its website and cable channel. Coupled with similar content from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the UWItv website provides audiences across the region and the world with a centralised repository of up-to-date COVID-19 information.

E-engagements on COVID-19

UWItv played a vital role in supporting The UWI COVID-19 Task Force and other regional stakeholders in delivering critical e-engagements that have delved into many specific COVID-related issues unique to the Caribbean. These allowed the region to actively participate in the discussions, and showcased the important contributions the region has made in combatting the pandemic. Through the innovative use of videoconferencing platforms and professional broadcast software, UWItv effectively offered the UWI community accessible, cost-effective and high-quality solutions for its virtual outreach, and in some instances deliver e-engagements in multiple languages to serve the wider Caribbean region and beyond.

  • "The CSME: What's in it for me Public Townhall" "Demystifying the Coronavirus"
  • "COVID-19: Partnering in the Caribbean's Response"
  • The World Health Organization Press Briefing "Combatting COVID-19 Through Data"
  • Dedicated daily time slot for COVID-19 related content
  • "Caribbean Unity or Plurality: The Regional Response to COVID-19"
  • Tourism Community Response to COVID-19 "Race, Class and COVID-19"
  • "The Impact of Covid-19 on Health Systems", hosted by the Faculty of Medical Sciences in collaboration with the Caribbean Centre for Health Systems Research and Development

Strategic Partnerships

UWItv continued to serve the needs of government, non-governmental and international actors through numerous strategic partnership arrangements including the United Nations (UN), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), CARICOM, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC). These multimedia partnerships allow these entities to effectively engage in their public education, social development and service mandates.

  • St. Vincent and the Grenadines' Historic Appointment to the UN Security Council
  • The Launch of the Caribbean Administrative Tribunal (CCAT) Caribbean Court of Justice 15th Anniversary
  • "Legal Dimensions Arising from COVID-19 Pandemic"
  • "The Life and Work of Walter Rodney"
  • CARICOM Reparations Commission: Sir William Arthur Lewis: Founder of Reparations for Caribbean Economic Development
  • The Launch of the P.J. Patterson Centre for African- Caribbean Advocacy
  • "From Apology to Action: CARICOM'S Call for Reparatory Justice"
  • "Caribbean Justice: A Needs Assessment of the Judicial System"
  • "The Uses and Abuses of Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence: Is Racism a Feature?"

In its daily operations, UWItv continued to work in close collaboration with multiple stakeholders to incorporate an entrepreneurial approach. UWItv has forged and strengthened strategic and developmental partnerships that have enlarged the global footprint of The UWI.

  • "Development Finance for The COVID-19 Response in the Eastern Caribbean"
  • Resilient Series: "Pivoting Your Business to Survive COVID-19: Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Brand Development"
  • Resilient Series: "Money Management of MSMEs: Managing Your Finances and Relationships with your Financial Institution"
  • E-Conference Series: "Reopening the Economy at the End of the COVID-19 Response"
    • Resilient Series: "Keeping Clients Amidst COVID-19: Cost effective marketing and client engagement"
  • E-Conference Series: "Private Sector for COVID-19 Response"
  • One Caribbean Solutions: "Post Crisis Strategic Partnership and Next Steps for Reopening Universities"
  • E-Conference Series: "Food Security and Economic Diversification as Part of the COVID-19 Response"
  • UWI MoU signing with the European University Institute
  • UWI MoU signing with Glasgow University

In July 2020, UWItv was a partial recipient of a Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) grant valued at USD $95,000 for the provision of Instructional Television through the UWItv Cable Channel in partnership with The UWI Open Campus.