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A Community for All: Looking at our Common Caribbean Information Heritage

Emerson O. St. G. Bryan1

A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots. Rt Excellent Marcus Garvey, National Hero of Jamaica

As we continue to recognize the several achievements, (and conversely our shortcomings) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), as the oldest integration group from the developing south, it is constructive, maybe even instructive for us as a Community to look at our Caribbean Information Heritage. It has been an interesting journey for the Region over these forty (40) years, and we have stood witness to important historical events over the period primarily through our documents and records. The Community has borne witness to coups, the election of successive governments, the establishment of several Community/Regional Institutions, the most prominent being the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the deepening and widening of the integration process through a Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the initiation of the CARICOM Single Market and the Economy (CSME), as well as the successful negotiation of a World Trade Organization (WTO) compliant reciprocal trade agreement in the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU), and the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States. Properly, the records and documents chronicling these events should be made available to the Citizens of our Caribbean Community as a regional public good. I use the term here purely within the context of a knowledge worker.

Emerson Bryan 1 The author is currently a Consultant/Archives and Records Management Expert at the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Secretariat in Brussels, and the former Information and Documentation Management Officer in the Office of Trade Negotiations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat in Barbados. Contact: emerson.bryan@gmail.com

Perusing the pages of the 40th Anniversary Edition of the CARICOM View I was struck by the wonderful contributions in the publication by stewards of our integration journey, but especially on page 2, which has a lovely image of the Original Treaty establishing the Caribbean Community and Common Market in July 1973. What if we could peruse this and other landmark documents within a CARICOM Archives? What a wonderful opportunity for us to interact with our Common Caribbean History, establishing our collective Caribbean Identity and ownership in the integration of our Region. The short lived West Indies Federation, which lasted for only four (4) years (1958-1962), has its honor the West Indies Federal Archives sited on the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies.

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Given that our Community has been in existence longer than any regional developing group, ought not some consideration be given for a CARICOM Archives? And this institution should not necessarily be limited to just the records of our Regional Secretariat, but also from our Community Institutions and our members and associate members. The physical (and digital) repository would provide valuable primary research material for those interested in looking at our experiences with integration, our history, and would also most importantly convey the integration message beyond the capitals of members and associate members. The institution would also support the recommendation of former Prime Minister of Jamaica, P. J. Patterson in providing knowledge for evidence-based decision-making by providing access to properly declassified documents on past successes (and failures) of projects, initiatives and joint ventures to promote the Regions development agenda. Mr Pattersons principal suggestion for a Knowledge Management Centre2 would be natural complement to the CARICOM Archives. This CARICOM Archives as an institution dedicated to preservation of archival material relevant to our Caribbean Heritage would be subject to accountability within our governance framework by reporting either to the Heads of the Conference of Government, or to the Secretariat/Secretary General, and eventually to the public and wider stakeholders, by issuing annual reports, and submitting annual budgets for approval as with most Community Institutions. The CARICOM Archives would be expected to promote and support functional cooperation with national archives from members and associate members of CARICOM, other Community Institutions (e.g.: CXC, CDEMA, CDF, CARICAD etc.), international and regional development partners (UN, EU, OAS, IDB, CDB, ACS etc), as well as other key stakeholders such as the media and civil society: CBU, CCL, CaFAN, CAIC, CPDC etc. The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) could also make parts of the collection of the proposed CARICOM Archives accessible remotely across Cyberspace to those who may be unable to physically visit the collection. The institution could generate its own funding through research services, paid subscriptions to access valuable and unique documents which oftentimes are unavailable outside the Secretariat, and the Community. The collection of papers of the following Secretaries General for example, are indicative of the information treasures which may be buried in such an archival collection as they would cover some landmark events relevant to the Community: Demas papers: The move from the former Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA) to the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), as well as the establishment of a Regional Secretariat. McIntyre papers: The establishment of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group was formulated through the Georgetown Accord in 1975, and was advocated by the CARICOM Secretariat. King papers: Credited for modernizing the Secretariat, and also for the establishment of more frequent regular meetings of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Community. Rainford papers: The most prominent event during his tenure was Operation Urgent Fury in 1983, which saw the intervention of US troops in Grenada. SG Rainford also oversaw the revival of CARIFESTA, the development and introduction of a Common External Tariff (CET), and the establishment of Community institutions such as: CEHI, and CDERA (now CDEMA).

2 http://www.caricom.org/jsp/pressreleases/press_releases_2013/pres12_13.jsp

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Carrington papers: no doubt, given the long tenure of Sir Edwin, as the longest serving Secretary General of the Community, there are many noteworthy events that occurred during his time at the Secretariat. The enlargement of the Community to include Suriname and Haiti, as full members of CARICOM, and Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos as associate members; The establishment of several key Community institutions such as the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the Caribbean Competition Commission among others. Also, the signature event of tenure, which was of course, revising the Treaty of Chaguaramas to include deeper integration by moving from a CARICOM Common Market to a CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Added to this remarkable career is the fact that Sir Edwin was also the only Caribbean national to have served as the Secretary General of the ACP. We are heading into yet another historical period as well, where the Community is currently undergoing a change management process under the stewardship of our current Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, no doubt the LaRocque papers should be part of our Collective Caribbean Information Heritage for the generations to come.