The UWI launches PJ Patterson Centre for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy

The PJ Patterson Centre for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy was officially launched at The UWI on June 26, 2020. The Centre's mandate is to coordinate public policy and advocacy in fostering development relations between the Caribbean and Africa. Mr. Patterson, who served as Jamaica's Prime Minister for more than a decade (1992–2005), is well regarded for his commitment to regionalism. He was a lead negotiator for the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group during the Lomé Convention; and was in charge of external negotiations involving the World Trade Organization, the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and the Economic Partnership Agreement. He has worked closely with the African Union, which appointed him Relevant Caribbean Statesman when it named the diaspora as the Sixth Region of the continent in 2003.

Speaking at the launch at the Centre, Vice- Chancellor Beckles said, "No Centre in any university could have been more timely." In his remarks, Mr. Patterson declared, "We propose a dialogue at the level of the Heads of Government to agree on a common agenda and to initiate a programme of international cooperation among countries in Africa and the global diaspora of people of African descent. There is a compelling need for the African Union and CARICOM to act in tandem with all the international organisations to which we belong, to ensure that our region's rights and interests of our peoples, especially women, children and persons with disabilities are actively defended."

According to Mr. Patterson, the new Centre "will contribute to the intellectual dialogue which could help to formulate and assist in the technical analysis, without which our just cause will never be accomplished."

The Centre, he stated, will do its part in building the bridges through academic exchanges and collaborations with institutions around economic and trade policy, cultural interaction and governance, climate change and other critical areas.