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2025 Caribbean Regional Risk Conference

Livestream !!

Conference Agenda

Hybrid Event

In Person Venue: Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle Resort
Worldwide Viewing and Participation: Live Streaming Powered by UWI TV

Conference Moderator – Mrs. Diane Quarless, Former Director, United Nations ECLAC Subregional Headquarters for Latin America and the Caribbean

 9:30 am – 5:45 pm ET/AST

8:30 am – 4:45 pm (Jamaica/Cayman Time)

1:30 pm – 9:45 pm (GMT)

*panel times are ET/AST times

 

9:30 am – 11:15 am

Opening Ceremony

 

9:30 am – 10:15 am

Welcome and Opening Remarks

·     Welcome – Conference Moderator

·     Introduction to the Conference –

o   Ms. Elizabeth Emanuel, Head, Technical Assistance Manager Team and Development & Corporate Communications Manager Team, CCRIF SPC

o   Mr. Stefano Capodagli Chief Risk Officer, Caribbean Development Bank

·     Remarks – Mr. Daniel Best, President, Caribbean Development Bank

·     Remarks – Mr. Isaac Anthony, Chief Executive Officer, CCRIF SPC

·     Remarks – Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Regional Manager for the Caribbean, CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean

 

10:15 am – 11:00 am    

 

Keynote Address – "Building a Resilient Wider Caribbean Region: A Collective Vision for Integrated Risk Management in a Changing World"

 

11:00 am – 11:15 am

Interlude/Entertainment

·     My Name is Risk – Ms. Cyndi Celeste

 

 

Coffee Break Available

 

 

11:15 am – 12:45 pm

 

Panel 1: Economic Tensions, Uncertainty and Geoeconomic Confrontations:

Navigating these new Global Economic Relations

 

Moderator: Ms. Marla Dukharan, Caribbean Economist and Advisor

 

Panel Style: Roundtable Discussion

 

Speakers

·     Ms. Lilia Burunciuc, Director for Caribbean Countries, World Bank

·     Mr. Timothy Antoine, Governor, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank

·     Dr. Marlene Attzs, Development Economist & Lecturer, Department of Economics, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus

·     Ms. Dilka Escobar, Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Investments, Concessions and State Risk, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Panama

·     Ms. Monique French, Chief Risk Officer, CIBC Caribbean

·     Mr. Ian Durant, Vice President Corporate Services, Caribbean Development Bank

 

Policy Statement on Strategic Directions for Caribbean and Central America Governments

 

12:45 – 1:45

Lunch

1:45 pm – 3:15 pm  

Panel 2: Sovereign Risk and Financial Sustainability in the Caribbean: Strategic Financing and MDB Interventions 

 

Moderator: Mr. Stefano Capodagli, Chief Risk Officer, Caribbean Development Bank

 

Speakers

·       Hon. Ryan R. Straughn, M.P., Minister, Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment (TBC)

  • Dr. Kevin Greenidge, Governor, Central Bank Barbados
  • Ms. Michelle Yan Zhang, Global Head of Sovereign Credit, World Bank
  • Mr. Joydeep Mukherji, Managing Director, Sovereign Ratings, S&P Global
  • Mr. Joshua Grundleger, Director Sovereigns, Fitch
  • Mr. David Rogovic, Vice President and Senior Credit Officer, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.

 

Policy Statement on Strategic Directions for the Wider Caribbean Region

 

 

3:15 pm – 4:15 pm  

Café Corner #1 – Blended Finance for Caribbean Resilience: Mobilizing Public & Private Capital, Concessional and Non-Concessional Funding

 

Moderator: Mr. Stephen Lander, Coordinator Development Financing, Private Sector Division, Caribbean Development Bank

 

Speakers

·       Mr. Joan Miquel Carrillo Cortada, Blended Finance Principal Officer, IDB Invest

·       Mr. Shimon McIntosh,  Vice President-Commercial Banking and Managing Director, RBC Royal Bank (Barbados) Limited

·       Mr. Simon Springett, United Nations Resident Coordinator, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean

·      Mr. Stefano Capodagli, Chief Risk Officer, Caribbean Development Bank

 

Policy Statement on Strategic Directions for the Wider Caribbean Region

 

 

Coffee Break Available

4:15 pm – 5:45 pm

Panel 3: Demystifying Misinformation, Disinformation and Fake News: How Risky are these to our Region’s Development?

 

Presentation on Impacts of Misinformation and Disinformation

Mrs. Laleta Davis-Mattis, Former General Counsel, The University of the West Indies

 

Moderator Mr. Peter Richards, Senior Editor, Caribbean Media Corporation

 

Speakers:

·     Ms. Charlotte Scaddan, Senior Advisor on Information Integrity, Office of the Under-Secretary-General, UN Global Communications,

·     Mr. Al Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, Our Today

·     Dr. Craig Ramlal, Executive Director, Artificial Intelligence Innovation Centre, The University of the West Indies

 

Policy Statement on Strategic Directions for the Wider Caribbean Region

 

5:45 pm

Closing Day 1

Cocktail Event 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 

 

9:00 am – 5:30 pm ET/AST

8:00 am – 4:30pm (Jamaica/Cayman Time)

1:00 pm – 9:30 pm (GMT)

 

*panel times are ET/AST times

 

9:00 am – 9:15 am

Welcome and View of Visual Summaries Day 1 – Conference Moderator

9:15 am – 10:00 am

Café Corner #2 – Exploring Detection and Attribution Science and the Implications for Climate Justice

 

·     Prof. Michael Taylor, Faculty of Science and Technology; Co-Director, Climate Studies Group, Mona, The University of the West Indies

·     Dr. Jhordanne Jones, CCRIF-UWI Postdoctoral Fellow, UWI Climate Studies Group Mona, The University of the West Indies

·     Dr. Gabriele Coccia, Senior Risk Management Specialist, CCRIF SPC

·     Dr. Mario Salgado, Programme Management Officer, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean

 

           

 

Coffee Break Available

10:00 am – 11:30 am

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Panel 4 – Loss and Damage and Climate Finance:

Emerging Trends, Challenges and Opportunities

 

Moderator: Dr. Simon Young, Chief Executive Officer, GeoSy LLC

 

Speakers

·     Mr. Isaac Anthony, Chief Executive Officer, CCRIF SPC

·     Mr. José Ángel Villalobos, Actuary and Senior Underwriter

·     Mr. L. O’Reilly Lewis, Director of Projects (Ag), Caribbean Development Bank

·     Ms. Sasha Jattansingh, Senior Adaptation and Loss and Damage Expert and Deputy Director, Climate Analytics

·     Mr. Crispin D’Auvergne, Executive Director, Caribbean Cooperative MRV Hub

 

Policy Statement on Strategic Directions for the Wider Caribbean Region

 

11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Panel 5: Are Nature-Based Solutions Keys to Building A Resilient Caribbean?

 

Moderator:  Ms. Valerie Isaac, Head, Environmental Sustainability Division, Caribbean Development Bank

 

·     Ms. Karen McDonald Gayle, Executive Director, Caribbean Biodiversity Fund

·     Ms. Virginie Andre, Programme Manager, Disaster Risk Management, Delegation of The European Union to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS and CARICOM/CARIFORUM

·     Mr. Donald Baldeosingh, Executive Director, Carbon Zero Institute of Trinidad and Tobago

·     Dr. Evangeline Inniss Springer, Director, Disaster Risk Reduction Centre, The University of the West Indies

·     Ms. Nicole Leotaud, Executive Director, Caribbean Natural Resources Institute

·     Mr. Oscar Guevara, Principal Executive, Climate Action and Positive Biodiversity, CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean

 

A Call-to-Action – Recommendations to Regional Governments on Scaling up Nature-Based Solutions

 

 

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Lunch

 

 

 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

 

 

 

 

 

Panel 6: Has the Global Sense of Societal Fragmentation Trickled Down to the Region?

The Region’s Response….

 

 

Presentation on the Regional Human Development Report

Mr. Rodrigo Barraza, SDG Technical Specialist, Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, United Nations Development Programme

 

Moderator: Ms. Elizabeth Emanuel, Head, Technical Assistance Manager Team and Development & Corporate Communications Manager Team, CCRIF SPC and International Development Specialist

 

Speakers

·     Mrs. Beverly Harry-Emmanuel, Advisor for Social Development, CARICOM Secretariat

·     Mr. Richardo Aiken, Community Development Specialist, Caribbean Development Bank

·     Ms. Isiuwa Iyahen, Deputy Representative and Acting Head of Office with the UN Women Multi-Country Office (MCO) for the Caribbean

·     Dr. Diana Thorburn, Director of Research, Caribbean Policy Research Institute

·     Mr. Joshua Andall, Prime Minister-elect of the Youth Parliament. Grenada and Grenada’s Youth Ambassador

·     Ms. Letícia Gontijo Furst Gonçalves, Risk Finance Consultant, World Food Programme, Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean

·     Ms. Heather Timothy, Regional Programme Coordinator, Climate Risk Adaptation and Insurance in the Caribbean Project

 

Policy Statement on the Future of AI in Advancing Human Development Prospects in the Wider Caribbean Region

 

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Panel 7: Unlocking Private Sector Potential & Risk-Sharing Solutions for Sustainable Development

 

Moderator: Ms. Lisa Harding, Division Chief, Private Sector Division, Caribbean Development Bank

 

Speakers

  • Mr. Berisford Grey, President & Chief Executive Officer, Sygnus Group
  • Mr. Daniel Best, President, Caribbean Development Bank
  • Mr. Darryl White, Managing Director, Caribbean Region, IDB Invest
  • Mr. Victor Boyce, Head, Corporate Banking, CIBC Caribbean
  • Mr. Anthony Ali, Chief Executive Officer, Goddard Enterprises, Ltd. (TBC)

 

Policy Statement on Strategic Directions for the Wider Caribbean Region

 

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Townhall - Youth Voices on Caribbean Development... Future Leaders Speak on the Development they Want…

 (Concurrent Session)

 

Moderators:

·     Ms. Jamala Alexander, Policy and Research Analyst, CCRIF SPC and Climate Change Youth Advocate

·     Mr. Zachary Murray, Graduate Student, Master of Public Administration and Master of Arts in International Relations, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University

 

 

5:00 pm – 5:30 pm   

Closing Remarks/ Next Steps

 

Weaving WCR Risk Solutions: From Panel Insights to a Unified Roadmap for the Future

Presentation of Policy Statements emerging from the 7 panel discussions… From Dialogue to Direction: Policy Statements and Action Roadmap

·     Mr. Daniel Best, President, Caribbean Development Bank

·     Mr. Isaac Anthony, Chief Executive Officer, CCRIF SPC

·     Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Regional Manager for the Caribbean, CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean

·     Youth Representative

 

 

Panels in English

Panels in Spanish

Registration Form