Your Excellency the Governor Mr. Boyd McCleary Ministers of Government Deputy Governor Mrs. Inez Archibald Members of the House of Assembly Chairman of the Board, H. Lavity Stoutt Community College Dr. Charles Wheatley President of H. Lavity Stoutt Community College Dr. Karl Dawson Chairman of ISISA, Mrs. Dana Ambrose Visiting Dignitaries and delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Morning:
It is my distinct honour to welcome you all to this, the 12th Islands of the World Conference.
I want to extend a particularly warm welcome to those of you who have travelled to the Virgin Islands from overseas and to the distinguished members of academia who will be presenting over the next several days.
My hearty congratulations to the hardworking people here at the H. Lavity Soutt Community College who made this happen along with the International Small Islands Studies Association, itself, and all the sponsors of this important event.
A million years ago, man walked out of Africa, spreading across the vast plains of Asia. The tide of human migration had begun and the planet was to be forever changed.
A mere two thousand years ago, merchants crossed great distances to trade gold for silk in China. At around the same time, trade routes linking the kingdom of Ghana to Alexandria and Baghdad ensured the steady supply of gold to the Islamic Empire and salt and other products to the people of Ghana.
Trade helped to spread new ideas.
The science and medical knowledge of the scholars of Baghdad in the old Islamic Empire was brought back to Europe. The discovery of gunpowder in China eventually resulted in the passing away of knights and castles, those most emblematic symbols of the Middle Ages.
New religions such as Christianity and Islam found fertile ground in new places.
Untouched by man for millenia, this region, now known as the Caribbean, saw its first wave of migrants sweep upwards from the South American continent more than one thousand years ago.
Hundreds of years later they were displaced by the Europeans, whose superior weaponry allowed them to conquer lands and peoples across the globe.
Millions of Africans were brought over to work on the plantations of the New World and these islands were transformed from lush, virgin jungles to plantations where tobacco, coffee, sugar and other crops were grown for export to European markets.
In a few short years the Virgin Islands have moved from a subsistence agricultural economy to become a significant player in Tourism and financial services.
Change, ladies and gentleman, is the only constant.
Trade, innovation, migration - those have always been with us. Propelled by our curiosity and by technological advances, humankind has spread across the globe, penetrating its deepest oceans and climbing its heights until finally we dared to launch ourselves into space.
Humanity has been moving towards globalisation for aeons, aided by innovation and technological advances.
The development of the compass allowed European explorers to push ever outwards, to leave the security of the coastline and plunge into uncharted waters, secure in the knowledge that they could find their way back.
The age of industrialisation and the invention of steam engines powered new forms of transportation that could take people further, quicker.
In the last two hundred years or so, the rate of technological advances has quickened. Inventors are leapfrogging over each others’ innovations and the pace of innovation is hurtling along.
Graham Bell’s telephone and the development of electricity both contributed to the development of the computer which, in turn, has allowed Microsoft, Facebook and Google to connect the world.
This is the best of globalisation - the connections it makes possible between people of different races, cultures and ethnicities; the ideas and innovations that it helps spread which showcase the best of human thought.
Globalisation on the scale we are now witnessing means, that the actions of someone in a remote Philippine village can impact us all the way here in the Virgin Islands. What happens in Accra can have repercussions in St. Helena. We are living in a global village and that very fact brings challenges.
Small island states may feel like small fish caught in the undertow caused by the passage of larger fish hundreds of miles away; unable to determine their own course, the small islands may be pulled along in directions they are unsure they want to go. Of limited land size, with small populations and usually poor in natural resources, small islands face peculiar challenges.
How, for example, in face of American Idol, Pizza Hut, Hannah Montana and other American icons can the Virgin
Islands retain its own cultural expressions, much less project them beyond its borders?
To what extent can the phenomenon of global warming be mitigated by small islands?
How do we develop our economies without threatening our environment?
How can populations which have grown accustomed to the benefits of trade, to the ready availability of foods from all over the world, be persuaded to support national food security?
How do we protect the indigenous species that make our islands unique by making their preservation economically viable?
Many years ago, miners would send canaries down into mines to check the air quality. In a very real sense, small islands are the canaries of the planet.
Whether we survive or not will predict the survival and success of our bigger neighbours on this small planet as we face the global threats posed by population grown and rising carbon emissions, among others.
We will be among the first to feel the effects of global warming and sea level rise but we can also be among the first in leading the adoption of sustainable practices.
The leaders of small islands from whom decisions are expected on a daily basis on these issues have a difficult balancing act to perform. On our heads rests the futures of our people.
The decisions we make or don’t make will impact our peoples for generations to come. They will determine the success of our small islands.
The questions with which you will grapple over the course of this conference are difficult and thorny. There may be as many answers to one question as there are people in this room right now, and each answer will have its advantages and disadvantages.
The fact that you are addressing them and that you recognise their importance is a source for optimism and hope for it is not only the unexamined life, but the unexamined society which holds no value and which cannot progress.
Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you again to the beautiful Virgin Islands. I wish you a productive conference and hope you will enjoy your stay among us.
I look forward to reading as many of your papers as I can and hope that governments around the world, not just those of small islands, will take note of the important work you do and integrate your findings in their policies and actions.
Thank you
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