Collaboration key in dealing with economic issues

“Collaboration benefits all. Collaboration helps us with our economic analysis, it helps us to test the pulse in relation to our policy initiatives.”

This comment was made by Novaline Brewster, Public Affairs Officer, Central Bank of Barbados. She was speaking at the lecture, ‘Contagion in Currency Crises’, facilitated by the Central Bank of Barbados and the University of the West Indies (UWI) for undergraduate and postgraduate students of UWI.

She also noted, “Collaboration helps us to sharpen our analysis and strengthen our decision making, it affords us unique opportunities to listen and explain, it serves up unique teaching moments. Collaboration encourages us to ponder, reflect and sometimes to ‘wheel and come again’. We benefit, and you our stakeholders benefit from the inception of the Fellowship 2014. Therefore, the Bank has endeavoured to make it collaborative, reaching out to several stakeholders through seminars, meetings, etc.”

According to her, “The Central Bank is delighted to partner with the University of the West Indies on this regional project, in which we expose young minds to the latest ideas, thinking and economic research through our Distinguished Visiting Fellowship programmes. This year our Fellow is Professor Andrew Rose, an internationally acclaimed economist and award-winning lecturer at one of the world’s leading business schools. I am overjoyed to be involved in this programme for two reasons – firstly because these fora help to prepare and groom future experts in eco-nomics and finance; and secondly because it’s collaborative in nature. On the first point, a critical component of learning, growing and maturing is dialoguing with experts in the field, especially from individuals who bring a world view, buttressed by extensive research, to the discussion and debate. That is what sessions like this are all about, allowing our young people to engage with outstanding, international economists who can share not only theoretical perspectives, but also practical know-how, extensive knowledge and experiences.”

Brewster added, “The topic, ‘Contagion in Banking and Currency Crises’, is quite topical in the aftermath of the events of 2007/2008 from which the world is gradually emerging and given the pending crisis which analysts forecast is three years around the corner. This is an opportunity to learn many lessons.” (NB)