George Alleyne in Belize for U.W.I. 60th anniversary
When the University of the West Indies was established in Belize in 1948, it was housed in a small room in the then Bliss centre in the heart of downtown Belize City, today it has its own two-storey building in West Landivar and has greatly expanded its programmes and status in the country. This year, U.W.I. is commemorating its Sixtieth Anniversary and is celebrating its accomplishments across the region at its fifteen campuses and centres. Arriving today to celebrate with Belize’s alumni, was a special guest in the person of regional chancellor and distinguished CARICOM personality, Sir George Alleyne. According to Alleyne, the jubilee is a great time for reflection.
Sir George Alleyne, Chancellor, U.W.I.
“Sixty years is short in the life of an institution like universities, but for ours sixty years is a major achievement really. They say sixty years is a diamond jubilee and that when you have a diamond jubilee you must celebrate with the kinds of activities that glow and that are brilliant. So this year for our diamond jubilee, it is a time for three things, I say three things, a time for reflection, a time for rejoicing and a time for recommitment. What I say reflection—it’s a time for reflection on what the university means and where it came from. In 1948 there were just thirty-three students who came to the university, believing that this institution would grow. When I came to the university in 1951, the university was very, very big. It was two hundred and five students, now there are thirty-five thousand students in all the university. So this sixtieth Anniversary is a time for us to reflect how we have grown, how we have fulfilled our promise to be the major regional institution, the institution that is responsible for providing a large number of the human resources that are need in the Caribbean. When good things happen we rejoice and on Saturday night we will have a showcase of Belizean dance, Belizean music, Belizean poetry as a fitting point of celebration of the presence of the university in Belize.”
Throughout the course of his stay, Alleyne will be meeting with Governor General Sir Colville Young, Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Minister of Education, Patrick Faber and the U.W.I. Alumni Association. On Saturday, ‘A Belizean night of Performing Arts’ will be held at the Bliss under the Patronage of the Governor General, who is an alumni of U.W.I. That event starts at seven p.m.
