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The Programme


🗓️

Day 1, October 7th, 2026

📣

Opening of the Symposium 

9:30 - 10:00

Moderator:
PVC Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Affairs, The University of the West Indies (The UWI)

Welcome Remarks:
Rear Admiral Errington Shurland, Executive Director, Regional Security System (RSS)

Welcome Remarks
Professor Derek Chadee, Deputy Principal, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus on behalf of Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor, The University of the West Indies (The UWI)

💡

Framing Address 

10:00 - 10:40

Moderator:
PVC Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Affairs, The UWI
Positioning the Caribbean’s shared exposure to illicit financial flows and the need for unified approaches

The Hon. Wilfred A. Abrahams, S.C, M.P.
Attorney-General of Barbados
☕️

Coffee Break 

10:40 - 11:10

📝

Panel Discussion

Strengthening Collective Security Through Financial Integrity                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               11:10 - 13.00

Panel Chair:
Mr. Grenville Williams
(Fmr) Attorney-General of St. Vincent and the Grenadines 
FATF/CFATF Compliance and Security Vulnerabilities
Ms. Dawne Spicer,
Executive Director, Caribbean Financial Action Task

Virtual Assets, Crypto-Exchanges, and Financial Integrity

Professor Justin Robinson
Pro Vice Chancellor Planning and Campus Principal, Five Islands Campus, The UWI

Illicit Financial Flows and the Erosion of Caribbean Security
Ms. Kisha Sutherland, Director of Asset Recovery Unit, Regional Security System

Integrated Financial Governance Frameworks: Regulations for virtual assets across the Caribbean
Mrs. Michelle Majid,
Deputy Inspector of Financial Institutions,
Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago

🥗

Lunch Break

13:00 - 14.30

📝

Panel Discussion

Confronting Shared Security Threats Across Caribbean Region                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  14:30 - 16:20

Panel Chair:
Dr. Michał Pawiński, Lecturer,
Institute of International Relations, The UWI
Transnational Organized Crime and Strategic Responses to Irregular Migration
Prof. Suzette A. Haughton,
Professor of Security and International Relations,
The UWI

Criminal Economies and Networks Across the Region
(TBC)
 
The Evolving Face of Transnational Organized Crime in the Caribbean: Considerations for Strategic Responses to Cross-Border Crimes
Lt. Colonel Michael Jones,
Executive Director,
CARICOM IMPACS

From Norms to Convictions: The Legal and Institutional Frameworks for Prosecuting Transnational Criminal Organizations in the Caribbean
Ms. Paula Llewellyn
(Fmr) Director of Public Prosecutions, Jamaica
👥

Networking Break

16.20 - 17.30

📃

MOU Signing and Keynote Address

17:30 - 19.30

Joint Moderation MOU Signing:
PVC Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Affairs, The UWI 
&
Mrs. Rhea Reid-Bowen, Director of Strategic Services and International Affairs, RSS

Keynote Introduction:
Professor Don Marshall
Director, The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, The UWI
Charting a Secure Future: Strategic Security Governance in a Changing Caribbean

Professor Umut Turksen
Professor of Law
University of Exeter, United Kingdom
🗓️

Day 2, October 8th, 2026

💡

Introductory Remarks

9:00 - 9:30

Moderator:
Mr. Atlee Rodney,
Deputy Executive Director, RSS 
The Importance of Shared Solutions for Building Regional Capacity

The Hon. St. Clair Leacock,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Disaster Management and Immigration,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Chairman Council of Ministers, RSS 

🎙️

Keynote Speech

9:30 - 10:10

Moderator:
Mr. Atlee Rodney,
Deputy Executive Director, RSS  
Shifting Geopolitical Currents: Governing Caribbean Security in a Competitive Global Order

Anthony W J Phillips-Spencer, Brigadier General (Ret'd.)
 Executive Director of Coherence Global; Member of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Dialogue; and Former Ambassador of T&T to the U.S.


☕️

Coffee Break

10:10 - 10:30

📝

Panel Disucssion

Integrating Knowledge, Policy, and Practice in Climate Security                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             10:30 - 12:20

Panel Chair:
Mrs. Rhea Reid-Bowen,
Director of Strategic Services and International Affairs, RSS
Debt-for-Resilience: Financing Mechanisms
Senator Christoper Coye,
Special Envoy for Finance and Investment for the Government of Belize

Climate Disasters as Security Shocks
Ms. Elizabeth Riley,
Executive Director,
Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency,
Barbados

Climate and Health Security Intersections
Dr. Horace Cox,
Director for Surveillance,
Disease Prevention and Control,
Caribbean Public Health Agency,
Trinidad and Tobago

Community-Centered Resilience Approaches
Dr. Colin Young,
Executive Director,
Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre
Belize
🍝

Lunch Break

12:20 - 13:50

📝

Panel Disucssion

Embedding Prevention Through Design, Learning, and Practice                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 13:50 - 15:40

Panel Chair:
Dr. Michał Pawiński,
Lecturer,
The Institute of International Relations,
The UWI 
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED): A Holistic Overview
Ms. Brandee Collins,
Advisory Board Member,
U.S. CPTED Association

Community‑Led Safety and Social Cohesion
Dr. Macarena Rau Vargas,
President, International CPTED Association

The Caribbean CPTED Experience
Dr. Brian Cassell,
Pan American Development Foundation

From Theory to Practice: Lessons from the Field in Jamaica

Mr. Alexander Causwell,
Technical Advisor,
Office of the Prime Minister, Jamaica
&
Fellow in Strategy, Security, and Technology
Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI)
Jamaica
🔒️

Closing Remarks and Symposium Conclusions

15:40 - 16:00

Joint Statements:
PVC Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Affairs, The UWI

&

Brigadier-General Carlos Lovell, Chief of Staff, Barbados Defense Force
🗓️

Day 3, October 9th, 2026 - Closed Door Sessions

📝

Positioning the Caribbean in a Global Security Architecture

💡

Strategic Session #1

9:30 - 13:15

Opening Remarks – The Intelligence Race and Global Security

Artificial Intelligence in the Caribbean Security
Col. Glyne Grannum, 
Former Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defense Force

Landscape: Dual-Use Technologies, Dual Challenges
Mr. Shiva Bissessar,
Managing Director,
Pinaka Consulting Ltd
🍛

Lunch Break

12:15 - 13:15

💡

Strategic Session #2

13:15 - 15:30

Maritime Security and the Blue Economy: Advancing Sustainable Economic and Security Outcomes
Mrs. Rhea Reid-Bowen, Director of Strategic Services and International Affairs, RSS
Aligning regional assets with global systems
Dr. Angus Friday, 
Blue Economy Director,
Waitt Institute
🔐

Closing Remarks

15:30 - 14:45

Joint Statement:
PVC Sandrea Maynard, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Global Affairs, The UWI
&
Mrs. Rhea Reid-Bowen, Director of Strategic Services and International Affairs, RSS 
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