GIS – Saint Lucia’s Innovation Minister recently returned from the sixth Americas Competitiveness Exchange on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ACE).
The sixth ACE facilitated the sharing of knowledge and best practices for strengthening relations and developing partnerships among countries of the Americas and beyond.
Hon. Dr. Gale Rigobert said the event exposed her to the nuances of several innovative entrepreneurship sectors relevant to Saint Lucia, including that of medical research.
“What was most interesting was the level of involvement of young people,” she said. “Innovation can emanate from any mind regardless of age, race, culture or gender, and I felt that we ought to do more in our own national space to encourage young people to think creatively and innovatively and to allow them that space and that capability to build upon their intrinsic abilities.”
Dr. Rigobert said the forum served as a good benchmark for developing countries to map. However, she cautioned against a blanket policy approach.
“The goal is not for wholesale adoption but for adoption and adaption,” she said. “So while you see something at work elsewhere in another jurisdiction, it is for you to determine how feasible it would be to inherit some of that technology and then to adapt it to your particular national circumstance.”
The sixth ACE was made possible by the Inter-American Competitiveness Network, the Government of Canada, the Government of Mexico, and the Organization of American States. It provided an opportunity for identifying innovative ways to increase current levels of economic competitiveness.
The ACE also allowed for apprising Caribbean member states of significant investments which Canada had to date made towards innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization.
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