The two
organizations
have much to
accomplish
working
together

By Mike Jarrett

The 21st century has started with the proverbial bang - in New York, Washington, in cities in Afghanistan and the Middle East. It is unfortunate that this bang of a start is more accurately measured in terms of devastation and human tragedy than in lofty objectives achieved.

The first year of the 21st century has been quite dramatic for the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA). Not as bloody as it has been in the United States, Afghanistan and the Middle East, but historically significant, for the CSA.

The CSA, like any representative association, brings people of common interests together, binding them into a powerful 'instrument' for achieving or protecting a common good, however that may be defined at any given time. The broad objective: to use the composite strength of that instrument for leverage in initiatives to secure or achieve the common goals and aspirations of members.

Against this background, a number of CSA achievements stand out during this first 12 months of this new millennium. In the area of training, the CSA completed a successful management training workshop during August; and, the first training-by-satellite Caribbean Diploma in Shipping Logistics (in collaboration with the Caribbean Maritime Institute and the University of the West Indies) was completed. The CSA website, www.caribbeanshipping.org, "unveiled" to members in May 2001, was launched on October 15, 2001; and, on that very day, the CSA President signed documents formally making the Association a Social Partner of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).

As regards the website, the CSA completed its commitment to members in record time. The Association announced its intentions to establish the website in October 2000 and demonstrated a working website, on-line, to the membership seven months later. In less than 12 months, the CSA delivered a functioning tool for development -- Caribbean development. The expansion and growth of this website could mean a lot for the countries of the Caribbean, represented by the CSA, because the world wide web offers immense potential for communication. And, as we have come to realize, effective communications and access to current information are the very foundations of development.

As significant as the launch of the website was, the signing on the cooperation agreement between the two bodies, the Association of Caribbean States and the CSA, highlights a year of achievement. The two organizations have much to accomplish working together. Both seek to bind members who are separated yet joined by geography and history; members who reflect the diversity of language and culture you would expect to find, left behind by (all of) five colonizing powers operating shoulder-to-shoulder in a small sea. But whereas one Association, the ACS, comprises countries; the CSA is an association of businesses.

Ideally, governments should rule for and on behalf of those who appointed them. And, ideally, people should have a say in appointing those who govern them. This is not always the case, but it is so, generally, in the Caribbean. The Association of Caribbean States can, therefore, claim legitimacy.

The CSA can work with this body in seeking to achieve or protect the gains and interests of its members. Insofar as the Association of Caribbean States can influence policy related to trade and sea transportation, the Caribbean Shipping Association now has access and the opportunity to support and contribute to regional economic development. (December 14, 2001)

Mike Jarrett is Director of Information and Public Relations for the Caribbean Shipping Association.

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