for example : • we have held financial education classes in 140 primary schools and, in a pilot project, in 28 secondary schools. • we have had 75 work - place “ lunch and learn ” sessions, sponsored by employers but with instructors and material provided by the programme. • we have accepted invitations from several trade unions to conduct financial management seminars for employees in receipt of back - pay or other lump - sum payments. • we have had several interventions at the community level, mostly in rural areas. • we have used the wider pathways, the print and electronic media and other publications to disseminate basic financial information and types that could be useful to consumers of financial services. ladies and gentlemen, when we launched this programme we emphasized that financial literacy should be the business of the entire society and sought the support of all those who were in a position to help. we even suggested that some individuals with financial skills should see the financial literacy programme as a way of giving back to society. we are pleased that many people have responded to our invitation. we have been able to sign some 150 volunteers, many from the financial sector but other interested persons from all walks of life. we are now trying to encourage sixth form students to join the programme to provide instructions to their peers and to other students. i would like to express our deep appreciation to those volunteers who have devoted their time and talents to this very worthwhile venture. thanks also to our service providers who have helped get the programme off to a successful start. we saw the programme as an opportunity for good corporate citizenship and much of that has been forthcoming. some corporations have contributed through the financing of lunch and learn sessions for their employees. a few have provided or have pledged financing. in this context, we would like to recognize and express our special appreciation to : • bankers ’ association of trinidad and tobago ( batt ) • trinidad and tobago petroleum company ( petrotrin ) • bp trinidad and tobago ( bptt ) • telecommunications services of trinidad and tobago ( tstt ) • trinidad and tobago unit trust corporation ( utc ) • trinidad and tobago mortgage finance ( ttmf ) • association of trinidad and tobago insurance company ( attic ) ladies and gentlemen, this programme will in time have tremendous payoffs for our entire society. the economy has been going through a period of strong growth with increasing employment and rising incomes. it is critically important that the current gains in real income have a sustainable impact on our economic welfare. and this will only happen if more and more people

jwala rambarran : the road to independence – a manley perspective opening remarks by mr jwala rambarran, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the twenty - seventh dr eric williams memorial lecture, port of spain, 28 september 2013. * * * on behalf of the board, management and staff, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to our twenty - seventh dr. eric williams memorial lecture, the first in my capacity as central bank governor. as you may be aware, this memorial lecture series was launched in 1983 by mr. victor bruce, our first local central bank governor, following dr. williams [UNK] passing in 1981. over the past twenty five years or so, the lecture series has emerged as a high level intellectual forum that critically examines issues relevant to dr. williams [UNK] legacy of caribbean nationhood and identity. tonight is no different. in fact, it may be even more poignant. i say this because tonight ’ s twenty - seventh lecture takes place against the brutal reality that caribbean nations must chart a new economic destiny in extremely uncertain and incredibly unforgiving circumstances. just as dr. williams [UNK] doctoral thesis “ economic aspects of emancipation and slavery in the british west indies ” challenged the prevailing orthodoxy that the causes of the abolition of slavery were not that the british had become morally offended at this sinful trade in human bodies, but was due to the fact that slavery was no longer profitable to british capitalism, so too must post - colonial caribbean nations challenge the prevailing defeatist attitude that they cannot escape the forces bedeviling their economies and societies and which threaten to permanently erase their uniquely crafted caribbean identity. i am certain that tonight ’ s lecture entitled “ the road to independence : a manley perspective ” will be one of those big conversations about the future of caribbean economies. our distinguished speaker, ms. rachel manley, aptly describes herself as of the transitional generation – the last to experience the remnants of unfettered colonialism and the first to experience the coming of age angst of a newly independent jamaica. as she might remind you all tonight, rachel manley was only 15 years old when she witnessed the union jack come down at midnight on august 2nd 1962 and the black, green and gold jamaican flag shimmy up the flagpole to unfurl the dreams of a new nation, jamaica. perhaps more importantly, rachel manley is the granddaughter and daughter of three of jamaica ’ s national leaders who forever changed jamaica ’ s intellectual, social and