The Barbados Association of Reading (BAR) held their 5th Annual Conference in Christ Church, Barbados on December 2, 2011.
The conference was held at the Accra Beach Hotel in Christ Church and was declared open on December 1, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. by the Minister of Education of Barbados, Hon. Ronald Jones. The theme of the Conference was Differentiating Literacy and Numeracy Instruction for Diverse Learners, and it was comprised of various sessions including Differentiating Instruction presented by Dr. Sandra Robinson and Early Literacy Development presented by Ms. Darnell Wynn, president of the Bermuda Reading Association. Other topics included Strategies for Overcoming Challenges in Mathematics presented by Mr. Stuart Russell, and Using Graphic Organizers to Support Literacy presented by Dr. Ann Fergusson, the Committee for International Development in the Caribbean (CIDCAR) chair, on behalf of IRA board member Dr. Karen Bromley. There were a total of 153 conference attendees, several sponsors from Barbados, and a few representatives from IRA including Dr. Brenda Overturf, an IRA board member.
At the CIDCAR business meeting on December 1, members each reported on the various activities carried out by each of their associations over the course of 2011. They also discussed various issues—including membership recruitment, membership retention, and conflict resolution—and shared their goals for 2012.
CIDCAR was pleased to welcome a new member, Mr. Felix Henderson, a popular DBS radio personality on the Island of Dominica, who in collaboration with the Ministry of Education hosted a successful National Reading Competition to inspire children to “Read Today, For Tomorrow.” CIDCAR hopes to establish a new IRA national affiliate in Dominica this year.
On Saturday December 3, the IRA staff, in conjunction with the Chair for CIDCAR, organized a full day lea
The main focus of the leadership workshop was to facilitate and encourage collaboration between the councils and affiliates in the Caribbean and to encourage the leaders to work on literacy leadership and capacity building activities for their organizations. The leadership workshop also included modules on membership development, a guide to IRA’s online resources and a presentation on Leadership and Succession by Dr. Overturf.dership workshop. In attendance were representatives from Barbados, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the CIDCAR Chair Dr. Ann Fergusson from Barbados, IRA Board Member Dr. Brenda Overturf, and two IRA Global Operations staff members: Amy Kushner and Elizabeth Ndungu.
The workshop featured an interactive session on work plan development goal setting, with a focus on creating strategic goals. Affiliate leaders shared ideas and discussed ways to develop their affiliates and the Caribbean region as a whole. The CIDCAR members were also urged to take advantage of and to publicize the various online tools and resources available to IRA members.
Photo captions:
During the Leadership Workshop, Allison Lewis (representative from Trinidad and Tobago) and Beverly Harris of Jamaica (incoming CIDCAR chair) present their goals.
Committee for International Development in the Caribbean (CIDCAR) members, IRA board member Dr. Brenda Overturf, and IRA staff Amy Kushner and Elizabeth Ndungu.