Carib Scope

标签： Barbados

巴巴多斯

  • US court imposes US$7 000 fine on convicted ex-ICBL chief Innes

    US court imposes US$7 000 fine on convicted ex-ICBL chief Innes

    A decades-long leadership career in the insurance industry has ended in a federal conviction for 71-year-old Ingrid Innes, the former chief executive of the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL). Innes has been handed a sentence of time already served and ordered to pay a $7,000 fine after entering a guilty plea in a U.S. federal court for her role in a transnational bribery conspiracy connected to ex-Barbadian government minister Donville Inniss.

    In 2021, Innes received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and for months she prepared to fight the charges against her. But declining health and fears over insufficient medical access in the event of incarceration forced her to abandon her original trial strategy. She ultimately pled guilty this week to two bribery counts tied to a total of approximately $36,000 in payments directed to Inniss between 2015 and 2016, when he served as Barbados’ Minister of Industry and Commerce.

    At the time of the payments, the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) — the government agency Inniss oversaw — was a client of ICBL, where Innes was top executive. Prosecutors argue the unauthorized payments were bribes to help ICBL secure additional government-linked contracts. The illicit transfers were disguised using two fraudulent invoices created by Kamante Millar, ICBL’s former chief financial officer. Millar reached a plea deal with prosecutors after the scheme was uncovered, and later testified against Innes, other ICBL leaders, and Inniss during previous proceedings.

    Court records show the invoices — one for $16,536.73 in 2015 and a second for $20,000 in 2016 — were used to route funds to Inniss’ U.S.-registered dental business, Crystal Dental Lab. Innes, a Canadian national, says she was told the payments were legitimate consulting fees when she was asked to approve them. She added that she was informed that parliamentary acceptance of payments from government contractors and elected officials owning private businesses were common and not explicitly illegal under local Barbadian regulations.

    To date, no charges related to the scheme have been filed by Barbadian authorities against any of the involved individuals, despite the U.S. indictment referencing Barbados’ own Prevention of Corruption Act. It also remains unconfirmed whether the payments violated domestic Barbadian law, and whether they were intended to sway decisions of the BIDC board, a body Inniss did not have direct control over.

    In a statement to local outlet Barbados TODAY, Innes took accountability for her poor judgment in approving the two transfers. “I understand my actions fell short of the high standards expected of me as CEO,” she said. “I have accepted responsibility for my mistakes, and I look forward to putting this matter behind me so I can focus on my health and family.”

    The case stretches back to 2018, when U.S. law enforcement first uncovered the scheme. That August, a federal grand jury in Brooklyn returned an indictment against Innes and former ICBL senior vice-president Alex Tasker on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering. Inniss was charged separately in an indictment unsealed on August 6, 2018, and later added as a co-defendant alongside Innes and Tasker in an updated indictment. Inniss was found guilty on all three counts by a federal jury in 2020.

    ICBL itself voluntarily disclosed the suspicious payments to U.S. authorities, and as a result received a prosecution declination under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Corporate Enforcement Policy. The company agreed to forfeit $93,940.19 in profits that U.S. prosecutors say were gained through the bribery scheme. The investigation was led by the FBI’s New York Field Office and International Corruption Squad, a specialized unit the bureau rolled out across the U.S. in 2015 to tackle cross-border foreign corruption cases.

  • Temple Yard return in sight, but vendors still in the dark

    Temple Yard return in sight, but vendors still in the dark

    After nearly two years of displacement amid a major redevelopment project at the historic City Centre Temple Yard in Barbados, displaced local artisans are still stuck in limbo, with conflicting timelines and a lack of official outreach leaving many legacy vendors uncertain about when they can return to their original trading space. The project, which is transforming the iconic craft hub, is on track to wrap up its first construction phase ahead of Barbados’ Independence Day, according to Minister of Housing Chris Gibbs, who confirmed the milestone timeline during comments Tuesday. However, for the original vendors that moved to temporary accommodation at Pelican Village, no concrete information about their relocation back to the redeveloped site has been shared since talks with local media last year. Craftswoman Sherry-Ann Knight, one of the displaced legacy vendors, says she has only seen the near-finished construction from a distance and heard unconfirmed rumours about the project, with no official consultations or organized meetings held for the relocated group since 2023. She described business conditions at the Pelican Village temporary site as catastrophic, with foot traffic nearly non-existent: “Zero plus zero equals zero; these folks ain’t come out, food man ain’t come out, only one leather man come out.” Visibly frustrated by the ongoing uncertainty, Knight said she can only watch the construction progress from afar with no clear next steps for her craft business. Vendors were first displaced from Temple Yard almost two years ago to make way for the redevelopment, splitting the community across temporary trading locations. While some vendors like Tyrone Howell, a veteran leather craftsman, remain cautiously optimistic about returning to the original site, he also confirmed that no official updates on a relocation timeline have been shared with vendors since the project kicked off. “When we first come there she talk to we but since that day we ain’t had no more meetings,” Howell explained, noting he has observed new stall infrastructure being added to the back of the redeveloped site, suggesting finishing work is still ongoing. Howell maintains that the original legacy vendors should be the first to move back into the completed space, a priority he hopes project officials will honour. He added that regular customers constantly ask when the group will return to their central Cheapside location opposite the General Post Office, as most shoppers do not travel to the remote Pelican Village site to patronize the artisans. “A lot of people can’t come on here. I missing customers. A lot of people don’t even know who on here,” Howell said, sharing his hope that the relocation will happen before the Christmas holiday rush, giving vendors time to rebuild their customer base ahead of the busiest trading period of the year. Officials with Barbados Tourism Investment Inc (BTII), the agency leading the redevelopment, say the relocation process is moving forward and that original Temple Yard artisans will be given priority access to the new stalls. BTII communications consultant and spokesperson Joy-Ann Haigh confirmed that the application process for new stall leases at the redeveloped site is now finalized, and will be shared first with the legacy vendors that were temporarily displaced. “We’ll continue to communicate with them, and we will be sharing the application process with them shortly,” Haigh said, noting that displaced legacy artisans will be screened and approved before the agency considers applications from any new vendors that align with Temple Yard’s mission as a local craft hub. The application package will include full details of lease agreements, as well as clear outlines of the responsibilities for both vendors and government stakeholders once the facility opens to the public, Haigh added. She confirmed that BTII plans to hold an in-person meeting with the original Temple Yard vendors first to share all relevant information, but declined to provide a specific date for that meeting, saying the vendors deserve to be informed directly before any details are released to the public. “It’s gonna be shortly because we don’t have a date yet, and I would rather tell them first than to tell you because they’re not supposed to read about it in the newspaper first,” Haigh said.

  • Sargassum microbes to drive new science hub

    Sargassum microbes to drive new science hub

    A landmark discovery of three new microbial strains extracted from sargassum is set to reshape Barbados’ scientific and economic trajectory, opening new pathways for intellectual property development, advanced research, and high-value commercial biotech manufacturing, according to the island nation’s Minister of Science and Technology Jonathan Reid.

    The breakthrough discovery was made by Dr. Bidyut Mohapatra, a researcher affiliated with the University of the West Indies. Reid described the finding as a transformative step forward for Barbados’ growing innovation ecosystem, aligned with the government’s long-term goal to position the country as a leading regional center for technological and biological research. In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Reid confirmed that the government is actively moving through the legal process to secure formal intellectual property rights for the new strains.

    Reid emphasized that securing local patent protection aligns with the lead researcher’s own vision for the discovery. “To Dr Mohapatra’s credit, that’s exactly what he wanted,” Reid stated. “He named the strains after Barbados, and his dream was to patent them here. We are supporting this process through coordination with the Attorney General’s office.” Beyond navigating the patent application process, the government is working to formalize Dr. Mohapatra’s role in continued research, creating opportunities for him to expand his work in partnership with local government entities, Reid added. This approach is part of a broader strategy to retain top research talent and strengthen Barbados’ domestic scientific capacity by rewarding groundbreaking work done within the country.

    Infrastructure development to support this growing scientific sector is already well underway across multiple sites in Barbados. “We are making significant progress on our plan to build Barbados as a scientific hub, with ongoing projects at Newton and the development of Greenland as a fully operational scientific park,” Reid explained. “Hosting world-class scientists carrying out cutting-edge research from our island has always been a core part of our national strategy.”

    Reid noted that fostering a welcoming, high-capacity environment for advanced scientific research delivers two key long-term benefits: it encourages leading international experts to base their work in Barbados, and it inspires young Barbadians to pursue careers in STEM fields. “When researchers choose to come here on their own volition, do incredible work, and invest deeply in our country’s development, we want to partner with them to celebrate and support their efforts,” he said. “This discovery also serves as inspiration for young Barbadians interested in any scientific field, from oceanography to geology, and the rise of AI opens even more potential for groundbreaking research to be conducted right here from our island.”

    While Reid acknowledged that international patent applications are time-intensive, multi-step legal processes, he reassured the public that all components of the application are moving forward as planned. Beyond intellectual property, the discovery is prompting a national reevaluation of how Barbados leverages its vast marine resources. Though Barbados’ landmass is only 166 square miles, the country controls a 45,000-square-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that holds a wealth of underutilized resources, including marine microbes, minerals, and other natural assets that have not yet been developed for economic gain.

    The government’s current priority is to build a cohesive legal, financial, and industrial framework that can translate novel scientific discoveries like these microbial strains into marketable high-value commercial products. Reid said the discovery will act as a blueprint for rethinking the relationship between scientific research and industrial development in Barbados. “Part of this process is building domestic manufacturing capacity right here in Barbados,” he noted. “We need to become a space where we generate new, important knowledge, and convert that knowledge directly into sustainable commercial activity.”

    To support the growth of advanced manufacturing in the biotech sector, Barbados is expanding international partnerships and courting additional life sciences companies to establish a presence on the island. Through a strategic alliance with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the country is working to establish itself as a model advanced manufacturing hub for small island developing states. Reid announced that the public can expect major updates in the coming months regarding the integration of laboratory technologies and robotics into domestic production processes. Ultimately, Barbados aims to turn its naturally occurring marine resources – including the newly discovered sargassum-derived microbes – into high-value commercial products for global markets, demonstrating that what is often seen as a marine challenge can be transformed into the foundation of a thriving new domestic industry.

  • High-needs autistic students ‘being kept from school’

    High-needs autistic students ‘being kept from school’

    A critical crisis facing neurodivergent youth in Barbados has been brought to public attention by the Barbados Autism Association, which claims that dozens of teenagers on the autism spectrum are being forced out of formal education and trapped at home after many educational institutions refuse to enroll them unless families pay for a dedicated one-on-one aide. Nadia Simmons, a spokesperson for the advocacy organization, framed the ongoing exclusion as one of the most pressing systemic barriers for autistic children and their families across the island nation.

    Simmons specifically highlighted that the crisis is most acute for young people classified as level 3 autism, who require high levels of daily and educational support. “I would say the major challenge is the children with high support needs; they are being displaced,” Simmons explained in an interview with local outlet Barbados TODAY. “I know they’re working on it, but very often when a student is given some challenges, they try to move the students or expel the students and then the ministry has to juggle where they would go.”

    Unlike the rare cases of young children being out of school, Simmons noted that institutional exclusion of autistic teenagers has become normalized in the absence of targeted public support. “There are many, I would say more so, teenagers who are home because, while it is unusual to have children not in school, it seems to be fine for autistic youth because there’s no support or there’s no accommodations for them where they were,” she said. The advocacy leader confirmed that her team has documented at least two confirmed cases of out-of-school autistic teens, and she believes the actual number of excluded young people is significantly higher. The root of the problem, she added, is the common school requirement that families cover the cost of a personal aide for high-support autistic students – a salary that most low and middle-income households cannot afford.

    In response to the association’s claims, senior officials from Barbados’ Ministry of Education Transformation said they had no knowledge of the reported exclusion cases and have formally requested that the association share specific student names and school details to allow the government to intervene. Kaye Sargeant, Senior Student Support Officer at the ministry, emphasized that systemic exclusion of autistic students runs counter to the government’s official policies and practices. “If she knows of that, let us know, because that certainly is not how we operate,” Sargeant said in a telephone interview.

    Sargeant noted that the ministry has rolled out multiple targeted initiatives in recent years to keep autistic students enrolled in accessible, appropriate educational settings, adding that under Barbadian law, all school-age children are required to attend formal education, and unexcused absence is illegal. The ministry currently partners with local non-governmental organizations, including the Barbados Autism Association, to match neurodivergent students with customized programming that meets their support needs. Sargeant called for deeper collaborative work between the government and the advocacy group to resolve the reported gaps, saying “They know parents, and so they should say, ‘listen, how can we work together, what kind of programme is this child best suited for?’”

    Simmons pushed back on the claim of productive existing collaboration, saying “We really have tried to have meetings with the ministry, and I will work on that again, but we have not been able to collaborate with them to solve that problem. They’re aware of it, I know.” The association’s public relations officer added that many mainstream schools simply lack the infrastructure, training, and staffing to accommodate level 3 autistic students, saying “It really should be a collaborative approach because they need to be accommodated.”

    While acknowledging that the national government has taken steps to expand access – including covering school fees for autistic students attending private special education schools and increasing the number of institutions parents can choose from – Simmons said the growing prevalence of autism diagnoses has outpaced current support capacity. “I would be the first to admit that we can’t provide for all children … the numbers are increasing,” she said.

    Beyond the school enrollment crisis, Simmons identified a critical nationwide shortage of speech and occupational therapists that is undermining early intervention efforts for young autistic children. She shared her own family’s experience as an example: her nine-year-old autistic son was placed on a waiting list for speech therapy at the Albert C. Graham Development Centre when he was just three years old, and he only received an offer of care this year. While the association does not have exact data on the number of additional therapists needed – in part because many families join multiple waiting lists to increase their chances of getting care – Simmons estimates that at least two to three additional full-time speech therapists are urgently needed to meet unmet demand.

    When asked about overall school preparation for autistic students, Simmons offered a measured assessment, noting “They may not be perfect right now, but they are trying. They see the need, and they’re trying.”

    Over the past three years, membership in the Barbados Autism Association has grown sharply, and the organization now counts roughly 320 members, including autistic children, autistic adults, and family members of neurodivergent people. The organization also highlighted that support gaps persist long after students age out of formal school programming. Currently, only two major options exist for adult autistic people seeking continuing support and vocational training: the Derek Smith School and Vocational Centre, which serves people up to age 25, and Lifelong Skills Training Incorporated. “There is not much. It’s just now us and the Lifelong Learning programme,” Simmons said.

    To help address this gap, the association launched a one-year pilot Basic Life Skills Programme for autistic adults on Monday. Simmons said if the pilot is successful, the organization hopes to expand the programme, secure a larger dedicated facility, and extend support to hundreds more autistic adults across the island. However, sustained funding remains a major barrier. Simmons noted that the association receives the bulk of its donations and community support during April’s Autism Awareness Month, and securing funding for year-round programming requires constant outreach and advocacy.

  • Lower Burney residents urge drainage, utility fixes before new housing

    Lower Burney residents urge drainage, utility fixes before new housing

    A contentious community debate has emerged in Lower Burney, St Michael, after Barbados’ Housing Minister Chris Gibbs unveiled plans to address overcrowding in aging, structurally compromised housing estates. The government’s strategy centers on building climate-resilient new homes on designated greenfield sites, including Lower Burney, to relocate households from dense, deteriorated estates such as The Pine where full refurbishment and rewiring are no longer feasible.

    While some long-term locals have welcomed the prospect of new neighbors and expanded housing stock for the parish, many residents are pushing authorities to resolve decades-old unaddressed infrastructure and environmental issues before any ground is broken on the new development. Community members insist that close consultation with long-term residents—who hold intimate knowledge of the area’s unique terrain—is critical to preventing new construction from worsening existing flooding and utility shortfalls.

    Sixty-three-year-old Dennis Douglas, a lifelong resident of the area, pointed out that outside developers and engineers regularly overlook local knowledge of the region’s hydrology when planning projects. “Engineers come into the neighbourhood and build, but they don’t come and ask the older residents about the water system in Burney,” Douglas explained. “When we have heavy rainfall, the water accumulates down here in the low-lying areas. Developers lay foundations and return a year later to find standing water where they built.”

    Douglas added that historic watercourses running down from St David’s cross Lower Burney, and unaccounted-for subterranean channels and old plantation springs regularly lead to severe flooding during heavy rain events. He recalled a major downpour in the 1970s that sent floodwaters stretching from the Lower Burney valley all the way through adjacent neighborhoods, causing widespread disruption to homes and infrastructure.

    Beyond chronic drainage flaws, residents are also calling for urgent expansion of basic utility access, most notably the long-overdue installation of residential natural gas lines. Even though many Lower Burney households sit just a short distance from main gas distribution lines and a nearby commercial petrol station, dozens of homes in the interior of the community remain cut off from the network.

    “The natural gas infrastructure reached the valley and stopped halfway,” Douglas said. “Local residents have begged for connections for years, but officials claim there isn’t enough space to run lines past existing water pipes, or that the cost is too high. If a commercial developer comes in to build new homes here, they’ll get gas service immediately. We’ve been left waiting this whole time.”

    Residents have also flagged serious concerns about the geotechnical conditions of the targeted development parcel, warning that deep layers of soft topsoil and muddy substrate will drastically drive up foundation construction costs for builders. Local resident Sean Adams explained that building stable, code-compliant homes on the terrain requires extensive pre-construction foundation engineering, which could put the final home prices out of reach for average buyers if public authorities do not prepare the land first.

    “If you end up spending hundreds of thousands of dollars just on a foundation because you’re building on mud, you can’t afford to finish constructing the house,” Adams noted. “Foundations need to be deep, or built on reinforced columns, but it is far better to have a solid, level base that can withstand earth tremors than to rely on partial structural supports. The government should grade, stabilize and level the land before any lots are sold or developed.”

    Adams also pushed for targeted investments in social infrastructure and community maintenance alongside the housing development, noting that overgrown vegetation in under-maintained public spaces creates hiding spots for criminal activity. “We have large areas of overgrown bush here, and when it’s not trimmed, it becomes a spot for illicit behavior,” he said. “The government could clean the canals regularly and clear the brush, and there are plenty of young local people looking for work who would jump at the opportunity. When you invest in the community, everything improves and crime goes down.”

    Opinions on the government’s broader relocation scheme remain split across Lower Burney. Some residents acknowledged that housing agency representatives have conducted preliminary outreach in recent years to gather community feedback and share early development plans. While some established homeowners are skeptical that long-resident families from the overcrowded estates will agree to relocate, others see the addition of new housing as a net benefit for the entire parish, provided supporting infrastructure is upgraded first.

    One 20-year resident summed up the mixed perspective: “The more the merrier, I don’t have an issue with new housing. But infrastructure has to keep up with the growth. We need speed humps on our local roads because drivers come through way too fast here. If the road network is upgraded to handle extra traffic and safety improvements are made, new housing will be a welcome addition.”

  • Ex- ICBL chief pleads guilty to conspiracy, fined

    Ex- ICBL chief pleads guilty to conspiracy, fined

    A 71-year-old former top executive at Barbados’ Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited (ICBL) has avoided a prison term after confessing to her involvement in a money-laundering plot connected to a bribery scandal that involves ex-Barbadian government minister Donville Inniss.

    Ingrid Innes entered a guilty plea to a single charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering during proceedings at a United States federal court. In response to her admission of guilt, the presiding judge handed down a $7,000 US fine instead of a custodial sentence.

    Court documents and official sentencing remarks confirm that the judge’s decision to forgo jail time was heavily influenced by Innes’ ongoing health crisis. The former CEO is currently receiving treatment for stage three pancreatic cancer, a serious and life-altering diagnosis that the court weighed heavily in its sentencing determination.

  • Matthews stars as West Indies Women seal ODI series

    Matthews stars as West Indies Women seal ODI series

    The West Indies Women’s cricket team has wrapped up a compelling 2-1 ODI series triumph over Zimbabwe, delivering a commanding 91-run victory in the series-deciding third match in Harare on Wednesday. The result was anchored by a masterful second century of the tour from skipper Hayley Matthews, who put in a career-defining performance to carry her side across the finish line.

    After Zimbabwe won the pre-match coin toss and opted to put West Indies in to bat first, the Caribbean side built a formidable, match-winning total of 271 for five from their full 50-over allocation. Leading from the front, Matthews notched her 14th career One Day International century, finishing with a blistering 118 runs off just 113 deliveries. Her innings was punctuated by 18 fours and one six, marking the second consecutive century she recorded across the three-match series. She received valuable support from Shemaine Campbelle, who fell just one run short of a century herself, closing out her knock at 96 runs off 119 balls decorated with 13 fours. For the host nation, bowler Nomvelo Sibanda claimed two wickets for 42 runs, while fellow seamer Beloved Biza secured two wickets for 46 runs to cap Zimbabwe’s bowling effort.

    By the end of the innings, Matthews’ outstanding form across the series pushed her total run tally to an unprecedented 326, finishing with an average of 108.66. Her dominant performance earned her both the Player-of-the-Match and Player-of-the-Series honors, cementing her status as the standout player of the tour.

    Set a challenging target of 272 for victory, Zimbabwe’s batting lineup struggled to find consistent rhythm early on. The hosts stumbled to 9 runs for 2 wickets by the third over, slid further to 31 for 3 in the ninth over, and slipped to 85 for 5 by the 25th over. A late recovery led by captain Josephine Nkomo, who finished with an unbeaten 74 runs off 109 balls including five fours and one six, pushed Zimbabwe to a total of 180 all out in the 48th over. But the effort was not enough to overcome the target set by West Indies.

    A disciplined, coordinated bowling attack from the Caribbean side dismantled Zimbabwe’s batting order. Spinner Ashmini Munisar finished with figures of two wickets for 32 runs, seamer Jannillea Glasgow took two wickets for 37 runs, and all-rounder Aaliyah Alleyne claimed two wickets for 39 runs. Across the entire series, Alleyne picked up seven total wickets, while Munisar followed closely behind with six wickets, making them the most effective bowling pair for the visitors.

    Looking ahead, the two sides will turn their focus to the shorter format of the game, with a three-match T20I series scheduled to kick off at the same Harare venue this coming Saturday.

  • UWI adopts AI tool amid fears of false accusations

    UWI adopts AI tool amid fears of false accusations

    As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into student academic work, higher education institutions across the globe are grappling with how to uphold academic integrity while adapting to the new technological landscape. The University of the West Indies (UWI) has taken a notable step forward this academic year by rolling out a new AI-powered academic integrity tool, developed in partnership with the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), to tackle growing concerns around unauthorized AI use in student assignments. The tool, named IntegraGuard, is being rolled out across all UWI campuses as part of the institution’s broader strategy to address AI-related academic misconduct. Unlike many competing integrity platforms that focus exclusively on catching rule-breakers, UWI’s leadership emphasizes that the new system forms just one part of a multi-faceted approach that balances enforcement with embracing AI as a learning tool.

    Clive Landis, principal of UWI’s Cave Hill campus, explained that the university has already adopted a formal AI policy that prioritizes building AI literacy among its student body, rather than banning the technology entirely. “Our policy doesn’t bar students from using AI at all,” Landis shared in an interview with Barbados TODAY. “We want our graduates to be skilled and confident in using these tools, because AI literacy is already a critical competency for the modern workforce.”

    Even as the university encourages responsible AI use, Landis stressed that protecting the value and credibility of UWI degrees remains a top priority. To that end, IntegraGuard is paired with a range of traditional and alternative assessment methods, including in-person examinations, oral presentations, and one-on-one student interviews, to cross-check any potential flags raised by the software. “We’re in the middle of an arms race when it comes to AI misuse, so we need the most advanced tools to keep up,” Landis noted. “But we don’t rely on software alone: our robust, multi-layered assessment framework is what really upholds our academic standards.”

    What sets IntegraGuard apart from other tools, Landis added, is its unique focus on rewarding originality rather than just punishing misconduct. A core feature of the platform, called Origin, evaluates student work in real time as it is being created. If the system determines that a piece of work is entirely original, it issues a formal certificate confirming the student’s intellectual ownership of the content. “For example, if a student is composing an original poem, the tool can compare their work against every existing resource available today, and confirm that their work is one-of-a-kind,” Landis explained. “That certificate is a tangible recognition of their creativity and effort. Instead of only operating on the negative side of enforcement, we’re shifting to a positive model that celebrates original work.”

    Barbados’ Technology Minister Senator Jonathan Reid echoed UWI’s balanced approach, agreeing that safeguarding against plagiarism and misrepresented AI-generated work is a necessary step for higher education. “Plagiarism has always been a core concern for education systems, and that doesn’t change with AI,” Reid noted. “We have to stop people from passing off others’ work or unoriginal AI output as their own.”

    At the same time, Reid argued that the rise of AI presents a valuable opportunity for educators to rethink outdated models of teaching and assessment. Instead of fighting the technology, Reid said institutions should reimagine learning to leverage AI’s unique capabilities to deepen student understanding. “AI gives us tools we never had before to help students explore topics more deeply and work on more ambitious, dynamic projects,” he explained. “AI can help students create products and systems that carry real-world value that would have been impossible to build just a decade ago. I’m excited to see higher education move into this next stage of innovation, even as we protect the core integrity of our education system.”

    Not all technology experts share unreserved enthusiasm for the new initiative, however. IT consultant Steven Williams has warned that deploying AI to police student use of AI carries inherent risks, chief among them the threat of false positive results that wrongfully accuse students of cheating when their work is entirely original. “This is a double-edged sword,” Williams explained. “Everyone acknowledges that AI detection tools aren’t perfect, but what does that mean for the student who turns in an entirely original project, only to have the system incorrectly flag it as AI-generated?”

    Williams said he supports UWI’s goal of cracking down on students who blatantly use AI to avoid doing their own work, but he questioned whether the university has adequate safeguards in place to protect students who are wrongfully flagged. “We can’t allow institutions to disenfranchise hardworking students who have put in the effort to produce original, genuine work,” Williams emphasized. “That unfair punishment could have long-lasting consequences for a student’s academic record and their future, all because of an avoidable error in an imperfect algorithm.”

  • Call for national hub to safeguard Bajan language

    Call for national hub to safeguard Bajan language

    As Barbados debates plans to secure a permanent home for the National Art Gallery, a sitting parliamentarian and former linguistics lecturer is pushing for an ambitious complementary initiative: a dedicated national center to document, preserve, and celebrate the island’s distinct dialect and centuries-old oral traditions. Dr. Romel Springer, member of parliament for St. Andrew, argues that safeguarding the island’s intangible cultural heritage is just as critical as protecting its visual art, framing language as the unshakable foundation of national identity.\n\nSpeaking before the House of Assembly during debate on the National Art Gallery resolution, Springer framed the conversation around cultural preservation as a whole, not just art infrastructure. “A debate about a permanent home for our national art collection is inherently a debate about our entire cultural heritage,” he told legislators. “Language is the living expression of our linguistic heritage and national character. It carries the full weight of our history as a people, and it reveals more about who we are than almost any other cultural marker.”\n\nDrawing on his decades of experience teaching Caribbean linguistics and vocabulary documentation at the university level, Springer traced the deep ancestral roots of the Bajan dialect, pushing back on long-held misconceptions that regional Caribbean dialects are just copied from neighboring islands. He explained that most unique Bajan phrases and grammatical structures trace their origins directly to West African ethnic groups, brought to the island through the transatlantic slave trade.\n\nFor example, Springer highlighted the Bajan second-person plural pronoun “wunna,” a term with identical meaning and linguistic roots in multiple West African languages that also appears in other Caribbean dialects like Jamaican and Guyanese. “All of our language, when you dig into the research, stems from our displacement from Africa and forced resettlement here in the Caribbean,” he said. “Despite the systemic stigma and hardship placed on our native speech through centuries of colonial rule, we held onto the terms that felt most authentic to us, and those have been passed down through generations.”\n\nSpringer warned that urgent state intervention is needed now to stop the gradual erosion of Bajan speech among young people, who are increasingly exposed to globalized foreign media that outcompetes native linguistic traditions. He raised particular alarm that colloquial terms, traditional proverbs, and culture-specific expressions born from distinct Bajan subcultures — such as the iconic public service vehicle (PSV) transport community — are disappearing at a rapid pace, with no systematic effort to record or catalog them.\n\n“Countless unique Bajan expressions have already vanished from our island’s linguistic landscape, simply because no one has made the effort to chronicle, document, or preserve them,” he explained. “Right now, they only exist in the memories of older generations, who will eventually lose their memories or pass away. Before we know it, the children growing up on this island will sound just like the characters they watch on YouTube and Peppa Pig, and our native dialect will be gone from daily life.”\n\nSpringer emphasized that the Bajan accent and dialect remain the most recognizable marker of Barbadian identity across the globe, pointing to a 1990s cultural shift in Barbadian music and broadcasting as proof of the dialect’s power. During that era, he recalled, local artists abandoned the practice of mimicking Jamaican accents once they embraced the authenticity and cultural value of their native speech.\n\n“That Bajan accent is what sets us apart from Antiguans, Trinidadians, Jamaicans, and every other Caribbean people,” he told the chamber. “At the core of every person born and raised here, there is a deep love for the sound of the Bajan accent. It is something uniquely ours, that only those who grew up immersed in this culture can express authentically.”\n\nCalling on the government to partner with trained linguists and university academics to launch the initiative, Springer said a national linguistic repository is a vital investment to keep the island’s intangible history alive for future generations. He proposed building the new center as an adjunct to the planned permanent National Art Gallery, uniting the protection of the island’s visual and linguistic cultural heritage under one umbrella.\n\n“We need to put structured mechanisms in place now to ensure our language, our accent, and our unique Bajan culture do not disappear, because once they are gone, we will regret it forever,” Springer said. “Establishing a national linguistic heritage center alongside the National Art Gallery would be a critical step forward in our work to preserve the things that make us uniquely Barbadian.”

  • 4-H makes fresh appeal for volunteers with technical skills

    4-H makes fresh appeal for volunteers with technical skills

    The Barbados 4-H Foundation has thrown out a public call for technically skilled volunteers to help expand its youth-focused development programs beyond their historical roots in agricultural training, according to Vice Chairman Osmond Harewood. The appeal was formally launched this Tuesday at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal Nutrition Unit located in The Pine, kicking off the organization’s new “Call to Volunteer” initiative.

    Speaking to reporters on site, Harewood framed the effort as a straightforward but critical ask for community engagement. “Today we are making a simple yet important call. Give your time, share your talent, and help shape the future of all young people of our country,” he stated. Unlike common perceptions of volunteerism as just a donation of free time, Harewood emphasized that participating is fundamentally an investment in the nation’s next generation. “Volunteers bring knowledge, experience, creativity, and practical skills that can make a meaningful difference in the lives of our young people,” he added.

    The core goal of the new recruitment drive is to strengthen the network of local 4-H clubs by growing the pool of available mentors, program leaders and skilled volunteers who can support the organization’s innovative 4-H Forward curriculum. This expanded curriculum covers a far broader range of topics than the foundation’s historic agricultural training, including natural resource management, healthy lifestyle education, leadership development, civic engagement, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) training, and youth entrepreneurship.

    Harewood noted that a common public misconception frames 4-H as an agriculture-only organization, and this program expansion is designed to correct that outdated view. “Sometimes people tend to think that 4-H is just agriculture, and I think we want to show this is more than agriculture,” he said. The foundation is specifically targeting candidates with expertise in high-demand areas including public speaking, organizational leadership, civic education, club operations and financial management, as it seeks to deepen the technical skill sets available to program participants. “What we are calling for is more technical skills within the clubs. All those basic areas are part and parcel of what we are looking for [in] persons to come and give the technical skills to those young persons,” Harewood explained.

    Importantly, the vice chairman stressed that the foundation has not had to suspend any existing programming due to current volunteer shortages. Instead, the recruitment drive is focused on adding deeper, cross-disciplinary technical expertise to lighten the load for the foundation’s small full-time staff and open up new opportunities for youth. “There’s nothing we have put a pause on. What we are saying is that many hands make light work, and right now the work on the few staff that we have is pretty heavy,” he said. “We have skilled and talented persons in my business that could offer their services, but sometimes they’re waiting for somebody to call them. So we are saying yes, we need your skills.”

    National Programme Coordinator Theodore Fraser echoed Harewood’s comments, highlighting youth entrepreneurship as a particularly high-priority area where additional volunteer support is urgently needed. “Definitely one of the areas is the whole emphasis on entrepreneurship,” Fraser said. He explained that while young participants already gain valuable hands-on skills through existing 4-H programs, the organization wants to help them turn those competencies into long-term, sustainable income and career opportunities. “How do we transfer this into something that they can build a career from or earn from as well?” Fraser asked, noting that the ultimate goal is to ensure young people can leverage their 4-H experience in meaningful, economically sustainable activities long after they graduate from secondary school.