Jamaica’s moral and social ethics landscape, and its impact on present and future national development, will be the main focus of the ninth UTech/JMMB Joan Duncan Memorial Lecture to be broadcast live on TVJ this Sunday (May 15) at 4:00 pm.

The theme of this year’s lecture is, “A Suh De Ting Set: The Urgent Need to Bring Back Moral and Social Ethics to our Public and Private Priorities,”.

Bringing their perspectives and expertise to this discussion panelists: Professor Paul Golding, Professor of management and information systems at UTech, Jamaica; Reverend Dr Devon Dick, pastor at Boulevard Baptist Church; Karl Graham, senior research officer at the Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal (JAMP); and Donna Duncan-Scott, group chief culture and human development officer at the JMMB Group.

Professor Colin Gyles, acting Univeristy of Technology (UTech) president, stated that this year’s lecture is particularly timely, as “it addresses the need to refocus on moral and ethical principles that are imperative for a well-functioning society”.

“I hope that the discussion will inform and inspire us into action to bring about the change we want to see in our society for Jamaica’s growth and development,” Gyles added.

Professor Golding, dean of the College of Business and Management, as well as head of the School of Computing and Information Technology has led research into areas of national and international concern, leading the thrust to find solutions to many of the issues faced by society, locally, regionally and internationally.

As an academic, innovator and author, Professor Golding will share findings from his recently concluded research on the perception of the state of social ethics in Jamaica.

Reverend Dick has done extensive work in the area of community service, including the launch of a Forgiveness Campaign to counter revenge killings and for better family relationships.

A prolific author, his latest publication is Enduring Advocacy for a Better Jamaica: A Collection of Conversations. He will delve into the role of the church in building the morality of the society.

Graham—an attorney-at-law and senior research officer at JAMP, the three-year-old, pro-accountability, non-government organisation that works toward an informed, engaged citizenry, that ensures effective leadership and improved governance in Jamaica—will bring a robust legal and research perspective to the panel.

He will share about the importance of especially, financial accountability and management of political representatives and public bodies.

Duncan-Scott, group chief culture and human development officer will share from her vast experience as a principled and love-based leader and ‘people champion’ on values-based leadership and the impact of mindset change in transforming lives and communities and living in ‘oneness and love’.  

The annual Joan Duncan Memorial Lecture is hosted by the University of Technology, Jamaica’s Joan Duncan School of Entrepreneurship, Ethics and Leadership (JDSEEL), in partnership with the JMMB Joan Duncan Foundation.

The memorial lecture honours the vision, mission and passion of the late corporate leader and JMMB co-founder, Joan Duncan, whose mission was not to make a lot of money for herself, but to improve the lives of others through financial inclusion and access.

The public is invited to tune in to the live broadcast of the lecture on TVJ on May 15, from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

Remembering Joan Duncan

Joan Duncan is seen as the pioneer of the money market business in Jamaica, having co-founded the Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Limited in 1992 with Dr Noel Lyon. The company was formed after the late Joan Duncan was unable to convince the established financial houses to enter the money market.

As a result, she braved all difficulties and entered the market through a joint venture with National Development Bank, Mutual Security Bank, Jamaica Producers Limited, Jamaica Venture Fund and Antrim Ltd.  

This tenacity and drive has been a legacy left by Joan Duncan (who transitioned at the age of 58), to start a company where any Jamaican could walk in off the street, take a few hundred dollars out of his or her pocket and invest it. Her dream also encompassed the creation of a different kind of work place from the traditional organisations she had encountered in the Jamaican business world.

Instead, she built a company based on the ‘Vision of Love’, where employees would work in a fun-loving atmosphere, with a commitment to innovation and creativity, integrity and responsibility and each member of the team has the opportunity to learn and grow.

The company has become one of the leading financial groups in the Caribbean, boasting over 350,000 clients and J$8.8 billion (as at December 2021) in net profit. 

One of Duncan’s most notable achievements was being honoured posthumously, in 2011, through the official renaming of the university’s Joan Duncan School of Entrepreneurship, Ethics and Leadership (JDSEEL).

The Joan Duncan School of Entrepreneurship, Ethics and Leadership (JDSEEL)

The JDSEEL, based at UTech, is the first school of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean to offer a specialised B.Sc. degree in entrepreneurship. The school officially started in February 2010, and graduated its first cohort in November 2014.

It is also the first school of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean to have an active business entrepreneurship incubator centre – the Technology Innovation Centre (TIC) – for start-up businesses. The TIC has clients enrolled in various programmes and has recently been certified by Growth Wheel – one of the world’s leading incubation management programmes.