Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt "Rosie" Douglas at York U. to Discuss Eco-tourism During First Official Visit to Canada

TORONTO, May 29, 2000 -- Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Douglas, will visit York University, Wednesday, May 31 to meet York faculty conducting research on environmental and other issues of concern to this eastern Caribbean island nation.

Douglas is on his first official visit to Canada as Prime Minister. His Dominican Labour Party assumed power early this year in a tight election race that ended the 15-year reign of the Dominican Freedom Party led by former prime minister Edison James. At York, Douglas will consult faculty about a project to establish a learning centre in Dominica that offers certificate courses in environmental management, eco-tourism and related fields. He will meet with the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) and the Institute for Leadership Development (ILD) at York -- a United Nations Global Partnership Institute.

"Proper management of the environment is a live issue in Dominica today and one that the new Prime Minister is very concerned about," said York University Professor of Environmental Studies and Geography Bill Found, who is spearheading the project. "The island of Dominica has one of the least corrupted environments in the Caribbean and is now at a point where it could go the route of mass tourism or pursue a more ecologically sound framework for development." Found said the proposed joint centre, to be located just outside the Dominican capital, Roseau, would offer training for professionals across the entire eastern Caribbean and provide a research base for York students studying the region.

The ILD has already assigned a young Canadian professional to the Dominican Prime Minister's Office to work on the project. An Internet course on Project Planning and Implementation directed by Found through the ILD will be offered free of charge this summer to individuals in Dominica designated by the Prime Minister. The ILD has also invited the Prime Minister's Office to engage young entrepreneurs from Dominica in its annual United Nations World Summit of Young Entrepreneurs in August in New York.

York has a long history of involvement in the Caribbean region through its Organized Research Units (ORUs). These include: the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, the York University Centre for International and Security Studies, the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, the Centre for Feminist Research, and the Centre for Refugee Studies. York has also pioneered the development of the International MBA and graduate programs in Law and in Environmental Studies with special reference to Latin America and the Caribbean. The ILD at York is an intergovernmental agency that works to define and influence the issues surrounding emerging young professionals and entrepreneurs globally.

Prime Minister Douglas, 58, did post-graduate work at McGill University in Montreal in 1969. He holds a diploma from the Ontario Agricultural College and a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and Economy from Sir George Williams University in Montreal, now part of Concordia University. Douglas received the Black National Award in Toronto in 1974. That same year, he was deported from Canada as a "national security risk" after serving 18 months in prison for his role in a protest against racism at Sir George Williams University that turned violent and became known as the computer riot of February 11, 1969. The Commonwealth of Dominica won independence from Britain in 1978 and Douglas was first elected to the Dominican Parliament in 1985.

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For further information, please contact:

Prof. Bill Found
Faculty of Environmental Studies
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22619
wfound@yorku.ca

Sujit Chowdhury
Executive Director
Institute for Leadership Development
(416) 736-2100, ext. 20564
sujitc@yorku.ca

Susan Bigelow
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22091
sbigelow@yorku.ca
YU/058/00