"Sovereignty of the imagination is the greatest liberation"

In honor of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Independence Day on October 27th, I attended the Annual Independence Lecture put on by the University of the West Indies. The guest speaker was  Dr. George Lamming. I knew nothing of him prior to this talk, however I felt strongly compelled to attend. I am glad I followed my gut on the WHAT and allowed the HOWS to be ironed out along the way.


Dr. Lamming's official lecture was "Rethinking Perspectives on Independence". Being honest, the hour plus talk did not do it for me. It would have been heaven for a history buff though! Thank goodness patience is one of the many virtues being fine tuned during my Peace Corps experience. Once the formal speech was done the floor was opened up for the Q&A session and before I knew it 2 more hours had passed! This 84 year old precious white haired artist/poet/philosopher- creator in every sense of the word began to reveal his true vibrant colors. His words appeared to transcend chronological age, linear time, color, region, religion...he spoke from his hearts truth, his experience with the dance of life- Wisdom.

The discussion shifted to more of a focus on modern citizenship and social issues that currently exist in St. Vincent in the Grenadines. Much of the Q&A was centered on the education system. It was so refreshing to be amongst individuals that are not only aware of the problems that exist in their country, aren't afraid to verbalize this problems to "save face" but most importantly crave CHANGE and ACTION. I am just about 2 months into the 2011-2012 school year and this burst of energy and light was right on time.

Some points made by Dr. Lamming that stuck out to me:

• The purpose of having a higher education campus such as the University of the West Indies in SVG should not be solely to produce academics with degrees. The University should expand its mission to include producing citizens that will transform the current reality of its people for the better. The education system doesn't need more teachers doing the same thing, it needs to be completely transformed from within.

• A culture of collaboration over competiveness appears to have greater benefits, especially in the world of politics. When one party wins, 50% of the people are disenfranchised for 5 years. This cycle of competition serves very few.

• The foundation of primary school education should be founded in the arts. The Arts sharpen your observation skills, release the imagination, cultivates higher order functioning. Dr. Lamming focuses on reaching out to kids at the primary school level . He emphasized this is where the major change needs to occur. Dr. Lamming inquired if St. Vincent created an environment in which imagination has a place to live.

• He went on to criticize those who seek PhDs as "Terminal Degrees". Meaning, some people lose their lives to academics, knowledge, facts. They lose sight of humanistic side of research. He wonders how effective one can be if they spend years upon years reading about life and people instead of experiencing life and people.

• And in closing, as most people above the age of 80 often do (rightly so, they have earned it!) - he completely removed his filter and spoke very candidly about "off shore" campuses and institutions from other countries coming into the islands and setting up shop. He spoke on the underlying implications of hosting "parasites in paradise".

...to the little people , to life, to imagination *cheers* Dr. Lamming. Thank you.