UWI student wins regional essay competition

OMARI Joseph of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, won the 2020 edition of the Ideas for the Future contest - an annual initiative hosted by the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and regional central banks.

In a release, UWI said the competition is done to “promote youth views on development,” and a total of 500 university students across 19 countries participated this year.

This year's competition received more than 500 entries from university students in 19 countries.

Joseph – who also won the 2019 and 2020 national editions of the competition - wrote about the needs of SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean.

He will receive the Guillermo Perry Prize - $US 3,000 and personal recognition by CAF president Luis Carranza.

A student from the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia, placed second, and the third place went to a student from the Universidad Torcuato di Tella in Argentina.

Joseph’s essay argued that TT and other countries in the region need to create better policies to “close the historical productivity gap of these firms.

In his essay, he wrote, “SMEs are truly considered to be the backbone of Latin America and the Caribbean economy. Creating the best possible environment for these firms should be a top government priority.

“The case of TT presents an example within Latin America and the Caribbean of a country taking the initiative after key weaknesses were identified to address these issues.”

Carranza said, “The #IdeasForTheFuture contest demonstrates every year the vibrancy and talent of the Latin American and Caribbean youth.

“This year's edition, conditioned by covid19, has shown that Latin American youth are prepared and that they have good and great ideas to transform the reality of their countries.”

The essays of all 12 finalists and winners are can be viewed at www.ideasparaelfuturo.caf.com.