A collaborative initiative between the West Indies Rum & Spirits Association (WIRSPA) and the Open University Campus of the University of the West Indies has realized the signing of a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) that will provide a framework for cooperation between the rum industry in the Caribbean and the University arising out of which will come, in the first instance an online certification in rum and spirits production which will be offered to members of the regional rum and spirits industry and internationally “in several languages, WIRSPA has said.
A release from WIRSPA said that the MoU was signed prior to the commencement of the Association’s recent Annual Technical Meeting, which was held in St. George’s Grenada from July 9-11.
The WIRSPA media release stated that the deliberations in Grenada was attended by representatives of both large and small distillers in the region and that its deliberations embraced several key industry issues, including responsible drinking, production and quality standards, product labeling, environmental management issues and raw material supplies.
Chairman of Demerara Distillers Ltd. Komal Samaroo, who is currently serving as Chairman of WIRSPA, is quoted in the Association’s media release as describing the programme that will be offered by UWI as a “unique offering in education and training, coming as it does from the home of rum, the Caribbean.”
The signing of the MoU in Grenada also came in for praise from host Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell, who is quoted in the WIRSPA press release as saying that the conclusion of the agreement between WIRSPA and UWI was “a great example of the university applying itself to the needs of the productive sector, one in which the Caribbean possessed a wealth of expertise and heritage.”
Prime Minister Mitchell also lauded WIRSPA and the rum and spirits industry as a whole for efforts to intensify support for tackling the issue of irresponsible drinking in the region and in a recent industry undertaking to upgrade product labeling in individual local markets in the region.
According to the release UWI Open Campus Acting Principal Professor Julie Meeks-Gardner also weighed in on the signing of the memorandum, asserting that the Campus is “well placed to contribute to building the knowledge base in the rum and spirits industry which has been a vital component of the region’s cultural and economic landscape for centuries.”
