Both Sides of The Coin: The Story of The Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017

suggested that the two institutions should host a monthly lunchtime lecture. During a meeting later in the month to discuss the idea, it was agreed that the lectures would be on topics of general interest with the School of Continuing Studies providing the speakers. Niles was determined that the series should start as soon as possible and in a letter to Governor Cox dated February 9, 1999, he informed the Bank that the first presentation would take place on February 16, 1999. He kept his word and Professor Badri Koul, director of the School’s Distance Education Centre, delivered the first lecture on What is Distance Education? . From very early it was recognised that a monthly lecture was going to be a tall order. Indeed, after the first two, in February and March, the next one was held in July of that year. After that there were never more than eight lectures in any year. The reasons for this included the changing schedules of presenters and the occasional unavailability of the Grande Salle. Although presentations on health dominated the series, the lectures dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including electronic commerce (March 2001), Cricket World Cup (July 2004), hurricanes (June 2007), the cultural industries (June 2009) and the Constitution (February 2011). 95 The speakers came from academia, the private sector, the public service and civil society. The vast majority of the presentations were held in the Grande Salle but a few took place in the Frank Collymore Hall, the Hall’s meeting room and the Daphne Joseph-Hackett Theatre in Queen’s Park. By and large, the sessions were well attended. The attendance varied with the subject matter, but presentations on health especially attracted a good audience. Pupils from neighbouring schools were invited to the presentations and topics with some bearing on their curricula filled the venue. The Barbados Economics Society The launch of the Barbados Economics Society on January 13, 1983, provided another avenue for the Bank’s staff to interact with the 192