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Throughout 2019, the Central Bank of Barbados was involved in a number of initiatives and activities both related to its core business of promoting economic, monetary, and financial stability; and more broadly to supporting and promoting the arts, education, and culture.
This article, the first in a four-part series, looks back at some of the Bank’s activities and initiatives over the past 12 months. Read parts two, three, and four.
Early in 2019, the Central Bank of Barbados hosted the 21st Frank Collymore Literary Endowment (FCLE) Awards, which celebrates excellence among the local creative writing community. For the second year in a row, no first prize was awarded, but the top award on the night went to Hazel Simmons for her anthology “A Collection of Poems.”
During his welcome remarks at the event, Governor Cleviston Haynes asserted that the FCLE had come of age, and announced the establishment of a one-million-dollar endowment to further support it.
Professor Emeritus Funso Aiyejina of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, was the night’s featured speaker, leaving the audience thoroughly entertained with his presentation, “Writing for Prizes, or Prizes for Writing? (Or Two Tales Told by an Idiot).”
The popular Fish and Dragon Festival, a celebration of diplomatic relations between Barbados and China, marked its fifth year in 2018. The festival, which is sponsored jointly by the Central Bank and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Barbados, took place at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium in January, and featured the Charming Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Arts Troupe from China as well as several local acts.
The festival, which also coincides with Chinese New Year celebrations, will next be held on January 18, 2020.
In March, the Central Bank teamed up with the Financial Services Commission to host the 10th Domestic Financial Institutions Conference.
The conference, held under the theme “Repositioning Barbados’ Financial Sector”, included a keynote panel discussion featuring J. Edward Clarke, Executive Vice President of Sagicor Life Inc.; Ronald Harford, Chairman of Republic Financial Holdings Limited; and Dr. Justin Ram, Director of Economics at the Caribbean Development Bank. Also on the agenda were sessions on the securities market post-debt restructuring, and the compliance challenges financial institutions could face with the legalisation of cannabis and other high risk industries like gaming.
One highlight of the conference was the presentation by Henry Ohlsson, Deputy Governor of Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, who gave insights into life in a cashless society. With Barbados aiming to reduce its use of cash, participants benefitted from the experience of Sweden, which leads the world in going cashless.