Thanks to the institutional, and personal, support of Dr. Imogen Coe, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Ryerson University, and to the generous support with the planning and logistics from Prof. Emily Agard, Director of Science Communication, Outreach and Public Engagement, Ryerson University, the inaugural meeting of the Canada branch of the Caribbean Diaspora for Science Technology and Innovation (CADSTI-Canada) took place on Sunday 15 May 2016, 2:00 – 5:00 pm at Ryerson University. The venue was the beautiful new Student Learning Centre (SLC).

About 30 persons with links to several different Caribbean countries were in attendance. At the meeting, the initial ground work was laid for the formation of CADSTI-Canada. Information was disseminated about CADSTI, its mission, its organizational structure, and the activities of its existing branches in the UK, New England, US Southeast, and Silicon Valley. The Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF), which carries out the work of CADSTI on the ground in Region, was introduced and its 5 ongoing projects were described.

The outcomes of the meeting included: (a) a pledge from Dean Coe that the Administration of Ryerson University would help support the effort, in any way it can, to get CADSTI-Canada launched, and that Ryerson would begin to identify ways in which CADSTI and CSF could collaborate with Ryerson University, (b) identification of a small group of individuals who are willing, able and have the time to contribute to the work of CADSTI-Canada, (c) discussion of a set of potential projects that CADSTI-Canada may want to champion to help the Caribbean, and (d) a list of immediate action items.

Please watch this site for the date, time and venue for the next meeting, which should take place within the next month. To obtain minutes of the meeting, or to get your name on the mailing list, please send an e-mail to warde.csf@gmail.com.

Ryerson University Hosts Inaugural Meeting to Launch CADSTI-Canada