PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Social Economic Council (SER) in collaboration with the University of St. Martin (USM) is extending an invitation to the general public to a lecture titled ” The Venezuelan Migration in the Caribbean; problem or opportunity”. The SER-USM lecture will take place on Thursday, September 19th, 2019 at the USM Lecture hall in room 202 and will commence at 7:00 PM and conclude at 9:00 PM. Two speakers are scheduled to address the public.
No stranger to our community Dr. Antonio Carmona Báez, President of USM, will be a featured speaker for the evening. He is a political scientist
specialized in International Relations and the Political Economy of
Development. Dr. Carmona Báez was appointed in May 2018 as the President of the USM. In 1994, he received a BA from Middlebury College, Vermont, where he studied Politics and Latin American Literature. Thereafter, he pursued his graduate degree (MA) in International Relations at the University of Amsterdam (UvA).
In 2002, he earned his doctorate from the same university upon having
written his dissertation Global Trends and the Remnants of Socialism: Socio-economic and Political Restructuring in Cuba. In addition to his duties as President of USM, Antonio is author of various books, articles and contributions concerning political economy and public policy in the Caribbean. Among his most recent publications is the co-edited volume Smash the Pillars: Decoloniality and the Imaginary of Color in the Dutch Kingdom, published in 2018.
The keynote speaker for the lecture is, Professor Gerardo González a Sociologist from the Central University of Venezuela. He has a master’s degree in Latin American Studies granted by the Center for Studies and Documentation for Latin America (CEDLA) of the UvA. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) at Leiden University on the Venezuelan migration to the countries of Aruba and Curacao and the public entity of Bonaire. Mr. González has been a consultant for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) regarding sustainable development throughout his professional career. Professor González was also a consultant for non-governmental organizations in Venezuela, Colombia and the Dominican Republic. In his current capacity he is a specialist in the relationship between Venezuela and the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire.
The SER is an independent advisory body that provides solicited and unsolicited advice to Government on all important social and economic developments. The SER promotes sustainable development, with the aim of achieving and improving quality of life for the people of Sint Maarten. Another aspect of the advisory body is the organization of public conferences and workshops on socio-economic matters of concern.
USM is an expertise center on the bi-national island of Sint Maarten & Saint Martin specialized in studying and promoting cultures of hospitality in education. As an institution catered to the development of knowledge and wellbeing, it offers academic courses as well as adult enrichment programs. The general objective of the USM is to produce in every household on the island at least an Associate degree holding mediator and contributor to a tolerant and economically vibrant public life.
Together, the SER and USM hope to see members of the community attend the lecture in order to discuss the events of the Venezuela crisis and its effects on the Dutch Caribbean community with special attention to Sint Maarten.
