Lecturers to be taken into the inner-cities of Jamaica

As part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, the University of the West Indies (UWI) is pushing for more community engagement initiatives.

To this extent, The UWI, through its Mona Social Services and Community Film Unit, hosted an edu-lecture last week in Bryce Hill, August Town, under the theme, “Igniting Community Development Through Economic Empowerment”. 

Dr Olivene Burke, executive director of the Unit, advised that the edu-lecture is the first in a series of activities being hosted by the Unit, as part of the celebrations.

She stressed that the edu-lecture is geared towards taking lecturers into the inner-city communities and sharing with them in their comfort zones.

Burke said the university-community engagement initiatives are encouraging community involvement and participation in furtherance of the symbiotic relationship the UWI and the communities have been sharing for decades while enhancing economic growth opportunities that exist within the community.

More than 150 community businesses have started to benefit or are being enhanced by business development training and seed money provided to persons with good business ideas through the unit.

Dichotomy facing Jamaica at this time

Dr Herbert Gayle, head of the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at UWI Mona, who was one of two lecturers who presented, highlighted the dichotomy facing Jamaica at this time. This dichotomy, he contended, was borne out in a study in 2005, which revealed that Jamaica was ranked the most violent country in the world, while in that same year Jamaicans were also identified as the happiest people in the world.

According to Gayle, there is no way that we can be violent and grow, as “what you are likely to become depends heavily on what you are presently doing”.

The UWI lecturer encouraged residents to start looking for change from within as he unapologetically believes that “there is no people in the world with the talent we possess. The challenge is to get this talent to become an economic tool”.

He extended an invitation to members of the community to visit the University with their plans and urged them to be a part of the change that the community needs.

The second speaker, lecturer at the Mona School of Business and Management, also based at UWI Mona, Dr Kadamawe K’nife emphasised that a community afflicted by violence is a community with a lot of youths who are not engaged meaningfully.

He continued by saying that the lens through which we see people will dictate the strategy we create for development.

K’nife lauded the efforts of The Mona Social Services/UWI Community Film Project for the continued dedication to the development of communities surrounding the university.

He praised the unit for its economic development strategy, noting that the solution to creating sustainable development is simply to operate as though we are all global citizens with hearts.

K’nife added that individuals need to be global servants, using their hearts more to become stewards of the world.

Other speakers

Representing the UWI Mona, Campus Principal Dr Christine Clarke highlighted its continuous commitment to investment in educating community youths through the UWI Township Scholarship and film and videography course that targets the Greater August Town and surrounding communities. Over 120 beneficiaries of the UWI Township Scholarship and over 350 film graduates from the community will contribute directly towards ‘Igniting Community Development Through Economic Empowerment’.

Ricardo McCalpin, police officer and president of the Community Development Council, lauded the efforts of the university and implored fellow residents and students to do their part in changing the narrative and stigma applied to inner-city communities because of crime and violence. He asked that the residents take the messages from the lecturers very seriously.

“The UWI is here giving us free of cost what we would have to be millions for otherwise,” said McCalpin. 

In her closing remarks, Burke stated that The August Town Edu-Lecture is in keeping with the mission of the Mona Social Services/UWI Community Film Project to lead the social and economic transformation of underserved communities through its Six Pillar Model of social intervention: education and skills training, entrepreneurship, health, crime and violence prevention, sports and culture and peace research.

The investment of more than J$70 million in the Greater August Town shows that The UWI takes university-community engagement and transformation seriously.