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Barbados Public Officers Encouraged To Learn Another Language

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Kim Lynch of the Land Registry Department and course participants chatting with instructor, Villajas Jairo. (S.Pilé/BGIS)

#BARBADOS, January 4, 2020 — Public officers have been encouraged to enhance their skills by learning another language.

Deputy Permanent Secretary (DPS) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Donna Forde, made this call during the closing ceremony of the course Spanish as a Foreign Language for Public Officers, held at the Courtyard Marriot, recently.

Approximately 50 government workers participated in the six-week programme, which was offered by the Learning and Development Directorate, formerly the Training Administration Division, under the Ministry of the Public Service. 

The course was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Government of Colombia.

DPS Forde reminded those gathered that one of the goals of Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley was to ensure Barbadians become bilingual.

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“Certainly, for public officers, a second language is very important, not only for the people who work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Increasingly, the work of public servants is becoming more global and as you have to interface with your counterparts from other agencies, it is good not to be insular and depend solely on the English language.  And, I know a lot of you like to travel, so you don’t have to restrict your travel and interests to only English speaking countries. You can now feel embolden to visit Colombia and other places,” Ms. Forde said, pointing out that learning another language “opens doors and the mind” to more opportunities and experiences.  

Ms. Forde urged the public officers to continue studying Spanish, and further encouraged them to learn additional languages.

“Barbados is doing business with China, so why not go and learn Mandarin. The Brazilian Embassy and the Embassy of Japan are here, so learn Portuguese or Japanese.  Many of us studied Spanish at school. There is something called a false beginner, you just have to tap it and it will come out.  Never stop learning, so listen to podcasts; watch movies; participate in cultural opportunities; visit the exhibitions at the Argentina Embassy and speak with Spanish visitors,” she advised.

On behalf of the Learning and Development Directorate, Senior Training Officer, Sheldine Sehntwali, thanked the Government of Colombia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for acknowledging the importance of a foreign language, especially now that this country is seeking to do more business with Latin America.

“We want to thank you the participants for your dedication and enthusiasm. The Directorate remains committed to equipping public officers with the skills needed to do your job, and to do it well,” she said.


Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Donna Forde, speaking at the closing ceremony of the course Spanish as a Foreign Language for Public Officers, held at the Courtyard Marriot, recently. Looking on is course instructor, Villajas Jairo. (S.Pilé/BGIS)

Course instructor, Villajas Jairo, who is from Colombia, lauded the participants for being “open, warm, kind and respectful”. Describing the six weeks as a wonderful experience, he said: “Barbados and Colombia are so close. Learning Spanish gives you the chance to meet new people and friends. Thanks for sharing your culture with me; I will never forget my job here.”

In addition to learning Spanish, public servants were exposed to the Colombian culture and its coffee industry. They tasted treats from the South American country, such as natilla, a firm milk custard; patacones, twice fried green plantain; and bunuelos, a fried pastry made with cassava flour.

The students took the instructor to the Animal Flower Cave, Cherry Tree Hill, and the Foursquare Rum Distillery, and also treated him to Bajan snacks, such as tamarind balls and sugar cake.

Many of the public servants said they signed up for the course to sharpen their Spanish-speaking skills since they were required from time to time to communicate with professionals from Spanish-speaking countries. Others hoped to eventually take advantage of scholarship opportunities in Latin America.

shamkoe.pile@barbados.gov.bb

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CARPHA Progresses to Eligibility for the First Disbursement of Pandemic Funding

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Following a landmark Public Signing Ceremony for the Pandemic Fund (PF) Technical Cooperation Agreement (“Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response” [RG-T4387] Project) on December 14, 2023, in Trinidad, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) continues to progress towards the start of implementation.

 CARPHA fulfilled the IDB’s nine conditions prior to first disbursement, achieving full eligibility on March 15, 2024, and is now eligible for the first disbursement. This milestone achievement in just 3 months after the signing speaks to the commitment of both CARPHA, the Executing Agency, and IDB, the Implementing Entity, toward the regional PF project with the objective of supporting the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) surveillance & early-warning systems (EWS), laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and in countries.

Since the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement and as part of the conditions prior to first disbursement, CARPHA has achieved the following key outputs (i) the development of the PF Project Operations Manual, Multi-annual Execution Plan, Procurement Plan, Financial Plan, Procedure for CARPHA’s Financial Reporting System; (ii) vacancy announcements for two tranches of consultants with the subsequent hiring of five (Technical Coordinator, Financial Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Operations Officer and Project Operations Coordinator) and (iii) the establishment of the Project Execution Unit (PEU) and Project Execution Steering Committee (PESC). The dedicated PEU will be responsible for execution according to its planned timelines, which will be led by the Dr. Lisa Indar, the Project Director (CARPHA’s Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division).

 CARPHA, as the lead regional public health agency and an expression of Caribbean Cooperation in Health is mandated by its Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to support its 26 CARPHA Member States (CMS) in bolstering national systems and coordinating regional response to public health threats. The Agency works closely with regional and international agencies and uses regional mechanisms, surveillance systems, and networks for coordinating its public health response work.

In July 2023, the PF Governing Board announced that CARPHA’s regional entity proposal, entitled ‘Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Strengthened Integrated Early Warning Surveillance, Laboratory Systems and Workforce Development’ was successfully selected for the first round of financing. It was one of only 19 proposals selected from over 300 submissions and the only regional project. The three priority areas in the proposal are: (i) Comprehensive disease surveillance and EWS, (ii) Laboratory systems and (iii) Human resources and public health and community workforce capacity.

This project is expected to begin implementation in March 2024, starting off with a blended onboarding session. A Stakeholder Meeting with countries is tentatively planned for July 2024.

CARPHA remains dedicated to working together with the IDB, CARPHA Member States and the Pandemic Fund to successfully implement the regional proposal geared toward reducing the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean.

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Caribbean News

Men who had Murdered Man, Marley Higgs’ cell phone face Court

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Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

The prosecution intends to try two young North Caicos men, both age 21 for the offense of possession of property of a murdered man, property that was stolen and landed in their possession.

The phone belonged to Peureton ‘Marley’ Higgs, who is believed to have been an innocent gunned down at his apartment complex in the Glass Shack area in a spray of bullets on February 2 that killed another man and wounded two others, including a ten-year-old little girl.

The cell phone was described as white in colour, an iPhone, in a hard black case. 

On Monday, March 18th, JEFFVANO HANDFIELD of North Caicos pleaded not guilty to the offense, and the matter was adjourned to April 2024. He was granted bail in the matter.

A second North Caicos man was charged similarly.  

SARENO CAPELLAN aka, Kino Williams is the second individual brought before the court pertaining to the said cellphone. He appeared in court a week after JEFFVANO HANDFIELD, the date being Monday March 25th 2024.

The case for the Crown is that both men sometime in February of this year possessed the cellphone knowing or suspecting it to be stolen property.

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Caribbean News

Supreme Court Closed for Easter

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NOTICE is hereby given that the Easter Recess shall commence on Friday 29th April, 2024 and end on Friday 5th April, 2024. During the Easter Recess Judge Selochan will be available to deal only with matters that are urgent or require prompt attention.

Court Business During the Easter Recess

A person who wishes to have a matter heard during the recess must file a certificate of urgency along with an affidavit, which must set out the reasons why the matter is urgent or requires prompt attention. The matter will not be listed during the recess unless the Judge deems it fit for urgent hearing.

Opening Hours During the Easter Holiday

The Supreme Court’s last sitting day for the first term is Thursday 28th March, 2024. The Court will officially resume sittings on Monday 8th April, 2024. The Supreme Court Offices in both Grand Turk and Providenciales will continue to operate while the Court is not sitting during the recess.

The Court Office will be closed on the following public holidays:

  • Friday 29th March, 2024 (Good Friday) CLOSED
  • Monday 1st April, 2024 (Easter Monday) CLOSED

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