A three-day Meeting of Twenty-five (25) Marketing and Communications Representatives from Bureaus of Standards across the 16 CARICOM Member States is being hosted by the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) at its Sophia, Greater Georgetown location. The participants of the Meeting, which is being held during October 26-28, 2022, are members of the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) Marketing Information Knowledge Management and Education (MIKE) Committee, and INDOCAL of the Dominican Republic.
The MIKE Committee is one of the technical committees of CROSQ that advises on and implements strategies to promote the Quality Infrastructure (QI) within the CARIFORUM Region.
In her welcome remarks, Executive Director (Ag) of the GNBS, Ms. Ramrattie Karan noted that CROSQ has been a reliable partner of the GNBS and has assisted with many notable initiatives including the National Quality Awards (NQA) Programme, the hosting of stakeholders’ sensitization sessions, and providing support to the Bureau as it works with companies to implement National and International Standards.
“No doubt, the GNBS is grateful for the funding and assistance provided by this regional body, which has significantly helped the Bureau to meet its obligations to promote standards and quality in Guyana,” Ms. Karan noted. The Head of the GNBS also lauded the MIKE Committee for creating awareness of QI services in the CARICOM region.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the MIKE Committee, Ms. Samantha Banner of Belize noted that the intent of the Committee is to create a pool of human and other resources that can be used to further promote quality in the region. “Despite the challenges, I believe we are all visionary experts with a wealth of creativity and innovation ready to take quality from the Caribbean to the world,” she said.
The three-day workshop, which is funded under the 11th European Development Fund – EPA Programme – TBT Component, is being facilitated by Technical Officer at CROSQ, Ms. Latoya Burnham. The MIKE Council Representative and Director of St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards, Mr. Stuart LaPlace, and the Director of the Bahamas Bureau of Standards Dr. Renae Ferguson-Bufford are also in attendance.
Over the course of the meeting, crucial aspects and initiatives relating to the MIKE Committee are being discussed including the National Quality Awards Schemes under development by some Bureaus; the development of a policy for the sharing of technical and other information amongst Member States, and a review of the Committee’s Strategic Plan.
On day two, Elections for new Committee Executives were held and Guyana was elected to chair the MIKE Committee for the next two years. The GNBS representative on that committee, Mr. Syeid Ibrahim said, “I am very happy that the GNBS and Guyana continuously making impacts at the regional level,” as he pledged to continue sharing knowledge with other Standards Bureaux.
On day three, participants benefitted from training on digital marketing and social media management, which was identified as one of the priority areas for action, given current global trends.
The GNBS looks forward to working with CROSQ and the regional Standards Bureaux to promote quality products and services across CARICOM.
