Ottawa Round Table Discussion with Canada's DFAIT

DFAIT Canada/ Leadership Roundtable Discussion

I was fortunate to have travelled recently to Ottawa the Capital of Canada to participate in a round table discussion that was called DFAIT Department Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Their were many students from wide and far throughout the Caribbean from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, to Bahamas and Barbados. What was so interesting was the very great positions made by my student counterparts.

For me the questions posed wasWhat kind of programs is attractive to Caribbean students?Tourism was my platform as it is crucial to receive proper and professional training in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry. The cry for the longest is that Bahamians and other Caricom National are not trained sufficiently and hence the need to import persons to fill the top position like General Managers of Resorts.Technology programs was another important one was CARICOM nations all desire to become more advance.

What kind of programs where useful?I suggested at the discussion with the Ambassadors and Different University Officials that the exchanges are great start in fostering better relationship with the CARICOM member states and Canada.

As in any position, the question was posed of the challenges the program faced and the possible solutions. Everything and every program I believe has its obstacles especially with one time funding but its a time for everyone stake holders / students to be retroactive when faced with situation like delayed payments, delayed registration and the immigration fiasco with actually each Caribbean country represented had a big issue when entering Canada.

In my case it is a Tourism Program that I am doing my exchange school NSCC which is not a university but then the programs they have can reach more persons from the community with a greater need of training. I highlighted the impressiveness of it Culinary, Tourism, Ecotourism programs which have exceeded my expectations.

The round table had a highlight in which the Ambassador (High Commissioner of the Bahamas Mr. Mike Smith, who mentioned how program such like this Canada/ CARICOM Leadership Scholarship lead to great future partnership and pinpointed how it was years ago a student from the Bahamas came to Canada to do studies and its through some engineering pursuit Canadian company had the contract to come to Bahamas and lay the fiber optic cables that connect the islands of the Bahamas in technology. Mr Smith also added its is also Canada through relationships with Bahamas now benefiting from being awarded the Bahamas largest Capital project of recent which is a multimillion deal to reconstruct the Sir Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau Bahamas.

The trip to Ottawa was that of an exciting and educational one. The National Art Gallery of Canada was a walk to remember and the Canadian Parliament is a very nice place and I had a opportunity to sit and watch a interesting experience as parliament was in session live in the House of Commons.

I commend the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs for their vision and follow through with Canadian/ Caricom educational advances