Welcome and introduction

Welcome and opening remarks by project leader Island(er)s at the Helm Professor Antonio Carmona Báez (University of St. Martin)  

Antonio Carmona Báez serves as president of the University of St. Martin, is professor of International Relations and Development, and shares the Intermural Chair on Slavery and its Consequences sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) and the Caribbean Higher Education Council of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (CHECK). He studies public policy, the political economy of development, the role of institutions of higher education and research in the non-independent Caribbean and the impact of climate challenges on vulnerable communities. Using transdisciplinary methods, Antonio has made major contributions to the school of Decolonial Thought in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and throughout the Caribbean.

In the Islanders at the Helm program he serves as co-PI for the work package dealing with Climate Policy, and created a network of Caribbean climate experts among the Dutch and French Caribbean, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Antonio has coordinated USM’s contribution to the Climate Impact Atlas sponsored by the Climate Adaptation Services, IPDC and the Sint Maarten Ministry of Housing, Environment and Spatial Planning.  In today’s session, we will offer a description of the work package research experience and discuss the importance of networking among scientists and specialists outside of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.