​Mythology will have us believe that this year is the 400th anniversary of Thanksgiving in the USA, commemorating a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621. However Prof David J Silverman, George Washington University historian contests this interpretation. In his 1999 book, This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving.  He illustrates both the  power and diplomatic skills of the indigenous Wampanoag Indians, and “ how all that the Pilgrims ultimately achieved came at the expense of native peoples." 
 
The mythology of the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving continues to be taught in schools passed down from one generation to the next by politicians, artists and TV and radio commentators. But Silverman questions the authenticity of this perspective. Focusing on the Wampanoag Indians, he deepens the narrative to consider tensions that developed well before 1620 when the Pilgrims in the Mayflower landed at Plymouth and lasted long after the devastating war of 1675.  These events  trace the Wampanoags' ongoing struggle for self-determination up to this very day. The unsettling history reveals why some modern Native people in the USA hold a Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving, a holiday which to them  celebrates a myth of colonialism and white proprietorship of the United States. This Land is Their Land shows that it is time to rethink how as a pluralistic nation, Americans tell,  understand and celebrate the true history of Thanksgiving.
 
A glance at received wisdom reveals that:

•  During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress designated one or more days of thanksgiving a year, 
• 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States; calling upon Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country’s war of independence and the successful ratification of the U.S. Constitution. 
• His successors, John Adams and James Madison also designated days of thanks during their presidencies.
• 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national holiday to commemorate a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621

 
While recounting these essential elements in the history of Thanksgiving, Silverman offers an eye-opening and vital reexamination of what he calls “America's founding myth."  400 years after that famous meal between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians, he  sheds profound new light on the events that led to the creation and bloody dissolution of this alliance. It is as revelation of fact vs. fiction as well as the complex relationship between the Wampanoag Indians and Pilgrims, their declared friendship, and the commitment to mutual defense that became a war just one generation after the so-called “First Thanksgiving.”
 
 
Inventing the Truth 
 
The Thanksgiving myth suggests celebration of the first thanksgiving feast in 1621 was an initial encounter between English and the  Wampanoag Indians  which ended with the war between them in 1675. Yet historical records show encounters between the two groups dating back to 1500s.  Silverman points out that it is convenient to demarcate 1621 -1675 because it allows for a counter narrative of white American triumphalism and manifestations of white nationalism to propagate the conversion of native Indians to Christianity  and underestimate  the prominent role of the Wampanoag leader Pumetacom and the native Indians who fed the Pilgrims at Plymouth , taught them farming techniques that saved their lives from the ravages of diseases. At the same time it fails to describe that the resistance of the Wampanoagians collapsed because native Indians surrendered and joined the English in 1675; that contrary to promises made, the English seized all Wampanoag  property, made them bound labourers, held massive executions and sold them into the horrors of Caribbean slavery.  
 
Silverman illustrates that throughout 17th Century  to the early 19th Century  Thanksgiving bore no actual association between Indians and pilgrim.  The link between the holiday and history is propagated in a book, Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers   by Rev Alexander Young which mythologized the first Thanksgiving as the first harvest festival in what Silverman describes as the most famous footnote ever as it  was subsequently disseminated by authors, lecturers, artists until in it was taken for granted.   The 'gift of citizenship'  to the Wampanoag that contributed to them surrendering in the 1675 war  was indeed a trojan horse that robbed them of their remaining land. According to Silverman,  “White Americans reduced Indians to bit parts. Pilgrims emerged as founding father at the time of cultural anxiety that the lands were being overrun by immigrants especially Catholics from Ireland and Germany". 
 
A most vital contemporary exposure of the myth of Thanksgiving identified in the book is that of Frank James a Wampanoag,  born in Martha's Vineyard 1948 who became Director of the  Conservatory in the North East.  He condemned  what was supposed to be the 350th anniversary of Thanksgiving in 1976,  as Plymouth’s manufactured history,  a contribution to perpetuation of slavery and  the betrayal of the native people who helped the Pilgrims to survive. Thanksgiving Day is therefore a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the relentless assault on Native culture. It was advocated as a Day of Mourning.  James' Thanksgiving speech was a pertinent eulogy: “Participants in this  National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression that Native Americans continue to experience.” 
 
https://www.mayflower400uk.org/education/native-america/2020/november/frank-james-and-the-history-of-the-national-day-of-mourning/
 
 
 
Conclusion
 
As we celebrate Thanksgiving day in the USA and elsewhere in the world and even at different times, especially in this COVID 19 era,  it is useful to reflect on  the religious interpretations and  draw on the two pillars: gratitude and thanks. In a programme on NBC Today (November 24, 2021) Michael Curry the presiding bishop and primate of the   Episcopal Church of the USA,  described gratitude as  an attitude and giving thanks as an action. In other words gratitude appreciates the blessings in one's life, but on its own, is insufficient. Christians to whom Lincoln appealed in his thanksgiving proclamation in 1863  are called to be doers of the word (James 1:22). They are required  to go beyond being grateful and be intentional about giving thanks.  
 
What are the implications for us.   In a most basic sense we need to be grateful  for being alive and sharing in the blessings of this life. More concretely we need to give thanks that children and more people are getting vaccines; for a world hopeful about the end of COVID 19 ; for a global wave  that is becoming more aware and taking action (even slowly) on climate change to save the planet;  and most of all,  that we have an opportunity to reimagine and take action toward a different way of living based on social justice for all. Silverman teaches us that in celebrating Thanksgiving  "we do ourselves no good by hiding from the truth." 
 
 
Eddie Greene 

What's The Caribbean Response to the Legacy of COP 26 in Glasgow

In presenting the outcome document from COP26, Alok Sharma, President  of the Conference pronounced"We kept 1.5 degrees alive but its pulse is weak. This is the moment of Truth for the planet".  John Kerry softened the embarrassing disappointment by saying "Glasgow was not the finishing line  and was never going to be. Nations will still have much more to do on their emissions cutting goals to ensure the 1.5 limit"  The truth for the Planet  is that the majority of the 20 largest countries contribute to 80 percent of the global emissions . Consequently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that if all the current long term commitments were fully followed through the world would limit heating to 1.8 degrees in the long term.  However the gap between the long term ambitions and countries' crucial short term targets for 2030 would result in heating of 2.4C. 

This is far removed from the six key demands put forward by Small Island Development States (SIDS)  and Climate Justice advocates.   As Hon. Gaston Brown, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda and  chair of both  SIDS and the CARICOM Community puts it: these six key demands for World Leaders that, if met, should ensure our  nations are not entirely submerged by rising sea levels. They include:

• Decarbonize by rapidly phasing out fossil fuel extraction and ending subsidies.
• Commit to climate finance for small island states to mitigate and adapt.
• Ensure international institutions push harder for cooperation.
• Cancel developing countries debt so they can deal with the impacts of climate change.
• Implement a climate damages tax to make corporations compensate countries for climate related damage.
• Commit to limit global heating by  1.5°C.

As Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley so emphatically and persausively pronounced at  the opening plenary : ‘1.5°C is what we need to survive, 2°C is a death sentence... We do not want that dreaded death sentence, and we've come here to say, try harder.’
In the final analysis, not one of these key demands by SIDS was met in its entirety. While pondering the discussions on the mixed results of Glasgow, few may recall that "1.5 degrees to stay alive"  was the clarion call of the Caribbean at COP15  in Copenhagen, 2009 based on  research by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre. More immediate however, are  the implications for the Caribbean of two interrelated concerns: (a) Is CARICOM paying heed to the results of related research from our Universities and Scientists? Are our Universities maximizing  the benefits of a collaborative approach to public education and dissemination of their  research findings?        
 
A Vibrant Ecosystem of Research: Keeping Hope Alive in the Caribbean 

COP26 left no doubt that the world is in a race towards renewable energy sources. Even before Glasgow, this was  fully recognized in the seminal  work, The State of the Caribbean Climate by The  Climate Studies Group at UWI Mona, UWI, led by Professor Michael Taylor  in collaboration with The Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology led by Dr. Cedric J Van Meerbeck and funded by CDB, April 2020. ( See  link)  It is important to note a companion Report by the Organization Eastern Caribbean States Climate Trends and Projections for the OECS Region which presents the OECS Climate Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan (April 2020). 
https://pressroom.oecs.org/oecs-commission-releases-climate-trends-and-projections-report-for-the-oecs-region. 
​Like the UWI study, it   advocates for adaptation  of climate services involving  preparation and delivery of climate information to meet users' needs with partnerships among providers, researchers and users of climate services. 
The UWI study however is more expansive in advancing policy options,  which can in turn play a key role in facilitating the Caribbean's transition to a resilient future.  Limiting global warming to 1.5°C requires far-reaching transformations across power generation, buildings, industry, transport, land use, coastal zone management, and agriculture, as well as the immediate scale-up of technological carbon removal and climate finance. Accordingly, it promotes decarbonizing by focusing on Power.  It presents the case that wind and solar power generation technologies which are already available at scale, would be the quickest sector to decarbonize. The demand for power would double as other sectors switch to electricity and green hydrogen, requiring renewables production and storage capacity to be rapidly scaled up.  Similarly for transportation, the trend to carbon neutrality in the next decade is based on adoption of electrical vehicles and for agriculture,  using more efficient sources of energy.   The policy guidance from these two  studies but particular UWI's,  revolves  around  three pillars of functional' cooperation:
   

• Plan for current climate but be guided by the lessons of the past.
• Plan for the future climate but do it collaboratively. 
• Prioritize harnessing and enhancing regional strengths and expertise in support of improved decision making regionally.

The directives from these studies   identify underlying conditions that enable adequate        responses to climate change.  They include supportive policies, innovations, strong institutions, leadership, and shifts in social norms.  It is interesting to note that The Watchdog Climate Action Tracker (CAT) states that global greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 will still be roughly twice as high as what's necessary to limit warming to 1.5 degrees — a threshold scientists have said the planet should stay under to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis. The net-zero goals of 40 countries account for 85% of global emissions cuts, but the group found only 6% of those emissions were backed up by concrete plans. At this rate Finance for climate action, one of the major demands from SIDS, for example, must increase nearly 13-fold to meet the estimated need in 2030.

Glimmers of Hope through Coalitions of the Willing 

There are however glimmers of hope that even the watered down commitments from  Glasgow will reshape the Global Agenda as coalitions of the willing continue to work on critical solutions. It is apparent that the net-zero imperative is no longer in question. Among the limited  successes for SIDS to be built on are that  more than 130 countries that represent more than 85% of the planet's forests pledged last week to end and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030, and more than 25 countries have so far signed on to an agreement to stop financing fossil fuel projects abroad but no mention of doing so at home. 
 
Many of the net-zero commitments made in Glasgow came from coalitions of the stakeholders—governments, financial institutions, companies, multilateral organizations, civil society, youth and others. This is a major shift in gears among coalitions since Paris, who must participate if systemic problems are going to be solved. How can Caribbean Countries tap into these sources  and/or create necessary coalitions in the region and globally are to be found  in  a  very useful analysis of McKinsey Sustainability Report (November 12, 2021) that    published a summary of five key priorities coming out of Glasgow: 

• Companies can gain competitive advantage from translating net-zero pledges into netzero plans
• The money to finance the transition is forming; markets and institutions are needed to channel capital
• Securing green materials and decarbonizing assets will mitigate risk amid shortages and price volatility
• Measurement and disclosure are unavoidable; using digital to create transparency can have benefits
• Investments in resilience can protect people and companies from physical climate hazards

 
Conclusions: Reimagining Climate Resilience - Building on the work of Caribbean Scientists 
​
The big questions of financing adaptation and mitigation remain  critical for  SIDS and CARICOM. To what extent is the Caribbean Agenda totally dependent on external sources? Are carbon credits and  carbon taxes (raised in a previous blog) viable  options for reducing dependence of SIDS/CARICOM? What's to be done? . 
GOFAD has previously advocated for a greater level of cooperation among Caribbean Universities to advance the Region's achieving  2030 Sustainable Development Goals.  Capability for intellectual leadership in these endeavours is clearly illustrated in several ways. These include  the UWI Climate Studies Group referred in this blog; the  Green Environment Workshop of the University of Guyana Green Institute;  the UWI Resilience Network  established to contribute to the sustainable and resilient development of the Caribbean; the Centennial Legacy of Agriculture at UWI St Augustine to mark 100 years of the establishment of the Imperial College Tropical Agriculture August 30, 1921, which became known  as the University  College of the West Indies St Augustine in 1960, the University of Guyana (Berbice)  Campus Microbiology Training Workshop;  and the Human Heredity Environment and Health in the Caribbean (H3EC) Initiative  involved in genomics research. In addition, Vidia S Roopchand, a UG graduate lead researcher for the Pfizer COVID- 19 vaccine is an outstanding example. More than ever GOFAD reaffirms its "Random thoughts on Universities  in the post COVID 19 era: Time for a regional conversation" (GOFAD Blog 4/29/21)     
https://www.globalonefrontier.org/blog/random-thoughts-on-universities-in-the-post-covid-19-era-time-for-a-regional-conversation
 
 
Eddie Greene 

​The 2015  Paris agreement  (COP25)   provides a useful benchmark by which to judge the results of COP26  in Glasgow which comes to an end the day after this blog has been posted.  However, from all reports and our judgement having been part of the virtual audience at several of the main sessions and side events, the reviews of COP26  are mixed.  While Greta  Thunberg mocks the failure of the conference to offer concrete results as Blah, Blah, Blah,   Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the European Commission and a key negotiator at COP26,   optimistically pronounced that  “the glass is half full”. 
 
Context 
 
Recall that the 2015 Paris agreement adopted by 197 countries  aimed to reduce carbon emissions and limit the increase of the global temperature to well below 2°C . Then countries committed to decarbonize their economies and build climate resilience.   While  Small Island Development States (SIDS) continue their chant  “1.5°C to stay alive”, the  Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) supports their view that limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century is still possible, but  will require rapid, immediate, and economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, as well as the removal of carbon from the atmosphere. The conclusion to be drawn is that near-term actions to halve GHG emissions by 2030 must be pursued alongside longer-term strategies to achieve deep decarbonization by 2050. 
 
The Downside
 
According to the Climate Action Tracker (CAT)   of the 123 countries that submitted new national determined contributions  (NDC) targets by October 2021, twenty two  (22) including the European Union (EU) as a block submitted stronger targets  while 12 did not increase ambitions.  As many  as 89 countries that are not analyzed by the CAT submitted NDC targets.  Among them are many Caribbean, Pacific, African,  South East Asian and Eastern European countries all of whom  contribute minimally to GHG emissions. According to research  published in Glasgow (November 9), the  world is on track for disastrous levels of global heating far in excess of the limits in the Paris Climate Agreement, despite a flurry of carbon-cutting pledges from governments at the UN Cop26 summit. Temperature rises will top 2.4C  by the end of this century, based on the short-term goals countries have set out. 
 
Prospects 
 
China and USA, the world’s two biggest emitters unveiled a joint declaration  for close cooperation on emissions cuts that scientists say are needed in the next 10 years to stay within 1.5C.  According to the declaration, the two countries will “meet regularly to address the climate crisis and advance the multilateral process, focusing on enhancing concrete actions in this decade,”
 
At the same time India, the world’s third largest carbon emitter and one of the few countries is  yet to announce a timeframe to reach net zero emissions.  Surprisingly,  because of the dominance of its coal industry,  India is likely to  exceed two key commitments of  the Paris Agreement.  First, according to Environmental Research India looks likely to reduce emissions by as much as 45 percent by 2030, far surpassing its Paris target.  This is due to its pledge to increase the share of power-generation capacity  from renewable, hydroelectric, and nuclear sources. The other commitment is to reduce carbon emissions by 33 to 35 percent (from 2005 levels) by 2030. Today, India  is claiming the moral high ground by pointing out its per capita emissions are much lower than comparable nations and that the same rich nations that polluted their way to riches in the 19th and 20th centuries are now scolding developing countries when they follow the same route. Interestingly Vivek Wadhwa writing in Foreign Policy (October 22 2021) illustrates from empirical  data that  India is already far exceeding its renewable energy goals.
 
 
Climate Technology and Climate Finance Critical Indicators 
 
These  issues are indeed critical and need  to be explored in greater depth than this Blog will permit.  Suffice it to say that limiting global warming to 1.5°C requires far-reaching transformations across power generation, buildings, industry, transport, land use, coastal zone management, and agriculture. It also requires an immediate scale-up of technological carbon removal and climate finance. 
 
In an interesting side event by the Commonwealth Foundation,  the  point of departure was that  an ever-shrinking carbon budget does not accommodate delay. To reach a net-zero future, it is imperative to  ignite fundamental change across nearly all systems, from how we move around the world and build cities to how we grow food and power industry. These systemwide transitions will depend on the massive scale-up of finance, technology, and capacity building for countries that need support. That the G20 countries have reneged on their  pledged contribution of 100B per year since Paris erodes the  trust required to propel the world’s system toward Climate justice and equity. Uncertainty about the availability of financing for innovation  will limit capital formation and slow scale-up. Integrating most climate technologies into existing infrastructure, hardware, software, and operational systems  is critical. 
 
Conclusion: Changing Mindset 
 
As COP26 enters its closing stages it is to be hoped that  the  chasm between aspirations and policies will narrow and that governments will  change their mindset by putting global interests before national interest, thereby saving this planet from destruction.  A most sanguine expression of this aspiration is provided by ,” William Nordhaus argues. “Why Climate Policy Has Failed And How Governments Can Do Better” Foreign Affairs,  October 12, 2021
 
Greta Thunberg and the young  activists took a stand with a massive demonstration in Glasgow last Friday (November 5).  They continue to nudge and advocate for  governments to do better  After all the futures of their generation and the generations to come are  high stakes. 
 
 
Eddie Greene 

​Guyana has an excellent opportunity to be one of the best resource-rich countries. However, it  needs to  reorganize creative  institutional approaches, while   establishing and adhering to accepted principles, values and norms for achieving sustainable development. The big picture should  focus on What’s the future for Sustainable Development should look like in Guyana and the Caribbean?  My response assumes  a long term 20-50 year perspective  with emphasis on the acceleration of a low carbon and climate resilient agenda aligning oil and gas and a green economy.   It  straddles three areas: Governance and Institutions; Social Justice and Sustainable Business Approach. 
 
Governance and Institution Strengthening 
The overall focus ought to be on a broader sustainable development approach including  the economic, social and environmental. Therefore legislative, administrative and institutional reforms are critical to effective  governance towards Guyana becoming a model for climate change.

• Legislative reforms require resolving the tensions between International Investment Law, International Human Rights Law and Environmental Laws. For example are the issues around mangroves and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA);   decisions around Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs);  and compliance with the Environmental Protection Act.  It is important to note that traditionally, International Investment Law, to a large extent, takes  precedent over Human Rights and Environmental Laws. However there is now an opportunity for Guyana to harmonize or bring a greater degree of balance between investment, human rights and environmental laws in Guyana and the Caribbean. It is also feasible to develop a  project to focus on an examination of the conflicts and tensions between International Investment  and  International Human Rights Laws  through a collaborative venture including, for example,   the University of Guyana's Green Institute (UGGI) and the Faculty of Law.

 

• Institutional Reforms are critical. A relevant example is the Pact of Mexico which was the agreement between the three major political parties in Mexico that allowed for legislative, administrative, and institutional reforms and ushered in a new era of changes in the economic structure of the energy markets that  opened the hydrocarbons industry in Mexico.

 

• Social Justice  is a key component around which Guyana has to build  a model oil and gas producing country, as well as having a green economy focus. This model must reflect best practices in the redistribution of power and wealth to enhance the well-being of citizens through equal access, for example to healthcare, education, justice, and economic opportunities. 

 
The Necessary Enabling Conditions 
The development of reforms is one dimension. However,  their effective implementation requires a series of enabling conditions, among them access to resources: equity, diversity, inclusivity 

• Access to Resources is a main principle of social justice. As a model oil and gas producing country, in pursuit of  a green economy, Guyana’s development strategy must ensure equal  access to education, employment and health care, among others. As a resources-rich country combining oil and gas and the green growth economy, there is need to develop and implement public policy  that ensures better access to resources by citizens. In other words development must not only be seen, it must be felt also.

 

• Equity  is not the same as equality. As such, the aspiration should be to ensure that in order to achieve social justice and ensure equal opportunities for its citizens it is important to provide and distribute resources equitably. This means focusing on the specific needs of different communities and the individuals within them. Being a resource-rich country creates greater opportunities for policies to reduce systemic barriers and for policies to be implemented in more inclusive ways. Some  examples of resource-rich countries which are using their resources to advance development are developed countries – United States, Canada, Australia, and Norway; while developing countries are: Botswana and Chile.

 

• Diversity: As a model resource-rich country Guyana will have an opportunity to make resources available for better assessments of factors that create barriers in the society and develop programmes to overcome those barriers.

 

• Inclusivity and Participation are critical elements for Guyana to become a model country. Being a resource-rich country presents another opportunity to not merely develop policies in an inclusive way but also to implement them in an inclusive manner. There are opportunities for greater collaboration between UG and organizations such as, the Guyana Extractive Industries,  Transparency Initiative – Multi-Stakeholder Group (GYEITI- MSG) to increase participation of a wider cross section of the society - public, private, and civil society sectors.  There is also the elements of citizens and the development research, capacity building, etc. on the benefits of an inclusive approach to oil and gas governance and green growth. A CARICOM approach is a useful pursuit. 

 
Greater participation and inclusion would also reduce management conflicts by  fostering multi-stakeholder participation in the development of international investment agreements, not necessarily on the details but on  the broad components which can include various stakeholders, for example civil society. In this regard, Canada provides a good example of devising and implementing environmental protection policies. 

• Human Rights: Adhering to human rights obligations is a prerequisite for  Guyana being a model country.  Human rights are closely connected to social justice and it is  impossible to have one without the other. Within the University of Guyana,  UGGI can collaborate with the Law Faculty to promote the harmonization of environmental  and human rights obligations as well as  norms and more human rights compliant investments.

 
 
Sustainable Business Approach 
A sustainable approach to business and investment is critical. It will need to focus on integrated policies, strategies, and programmes in the economic, social and environment approaches to sustainable development.  Lessons to be learned exist in some private sector examples. These include the Business Roundtable which consists over 200 top corporations in the United States formed in 2019; United Nations Global Compact. Most appropriate however, is the CARICOM option for an energy partnership between Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname. (Please see link https://villagevoicenews.com/2021/10/28/proposed-guyana-trinidad-and-tobago-and-suriname-regional-energy-partnership/)
 
Conclusions 
My response to the question -- What would you like to tell Caribbean leaders and their delegations to COP 26-- is that emphasis should be placed on:

• Governance and Institutions: rethinking economic practices combined and human rights.
• Social Justice: fostering access to resources, diversity, equity, inclusivity and  participation
• Sustainable business approaches which highlight integrated policies, strategies, and programmes in the economic, social and environment approaches to sustainable development.
• Building a viable  post COVID-19  Guyana and Caribbean economy working on achieving  a regional energy policy combined with climate resilience strategy. 
• Sustainable and creative leadership: A good example of new thinking around this area is the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) programme, ‘The Future We Want’  https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/news/blog/developing-leadership-future-we  00224841846c) want?_cldee=dGhvbW9neUB5YWhvby5jb20%3d&recipientid=contact-5e7b5a49ce56e011b3ed7aeffdc904e0 9ed9aef7337d44739f0ddf84d01d18fc&esid=c81e947f-2630-ec11-b6e6-00224841846c)

 
About the author Ms. Audreyanna Thomas is Managing Director - Global Perspective Inc. (GPI) in Guyana and former  steering committee member of the SIDS Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC).  She has been  engaged in research in foreign direct investment, cross sectoral governance, the rule of law,  human rights and gender  in Oil and Gas/extractive  industries  with special reference to Guyana’s economic transition. She holds a Bachelor’s in Communications from UG and a post graduate degree from Loyola, University Chicago and  post graduate attachment to  and University of Cambridge, UK.