Social and cultural historian, political analyst, trade union educator, artist, expert on development and cultural dynamics, man of letters - these represent only a few of the areas of expertise of Rex Nettleford, one of the Caribbean's finest scholars. This carefully selected collection of 42 of Nettleford's speeches can only provide a mere glimpse of his formidable intellect and his contribution to the search for and validation of a Caribbean cultural identity. Known affectionately in academic, cultural, literary and artistic circles the world over, simply as Rex, this informal and unpretentious designation is used to capture the essence of the man whose ideas and speeches can be said to collectively represent the 'Triumph of the Caribbean Spirit and Imagination'. Readers who have had the privilege of hearing one or more of Rex Nettleford's speeches will agree with Barry Chevannes that 'Reading Rex Nettleford is not quite the same as hearing him...even when the ideas are the same...to hear Rex Nettleford address an audience is to be treated to a performance.' Of Nettleford, Chevannes writes: 'As a Caribbean man, Nettleford himself embodies the multilayered complexity which he insists is characteristic of the region, a five-foot eleven black man with rhythm in his steps and intertexuality in his living, who exercises the powers of his creative imagination to help his fellow tenants hold on to their legacy of a sense of self, for which monumental work he is a much revered, much appreciated voice teaching lessons for life on all the continents tenanted by homo sapiens.

The question of economic transformation is an immediate and practical one for the English-speaking Caribbean. In the postindependence period, Caribbean governments seemed blissfully unaware that the inability to transform their economies was leading to serious unemployment problems. The statistics are quite stark. Unemployment rates in the Caribbean range from 6% in the more prosperous states to 23% in the less prosperous ones. This use of economic transformation and job creation continues to be a major challenge in the first decade of the twenty-first Century. This is the subject that is treated with impressive urgency in this volume entitled Economic Transformation and Job Creation: The Caribbean Experience.

The question of economic transformation is an immediate and practical one for the English-speaking Caribbean. In the postindependence period, Caribbean governments seemed blissfully unaware that the inability to transform their economies was leading to serious unemployment problems. The statistics are quite stark. Unemployment rates in the Caribbean range from 6% in the more prosperous states to 23% in the less prosperous ones. This use of economic transformation and job creation continues to be a major challenge in the first decade of the twenty-first Century. This is the subject that is treated with impressive urgency in this volume entitled Economic Transformation and Job Creation: The Caribbean Experience.

"Governance in the Age of Globalisation provides a unique Caribbean perspective and analysis of the governance challenges at the national, regional and international levels. At the national level, the need for effective governance systems is highlighted as a critical requirement for promoting optimum levels of growth and development, guaranteeing human rights and ensuring political and social stability. Similarity at the regional level, the deepening of the regional integration process envisaged in the implementation of a Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), requires innovative ideas and initiatives for rationalizing governance structures. Moreover, since the process of globalization and changes in the geopolitical configuration of the international system have major implications for the exercise of power in that system, the establishment of suitable governance structures at the global level requires analysis. In this volume, academics from a wide range of disciplines, professional from both the public and private sectors and representatives of international organizations and development agencies, share views and present concrete proposals for effective governance systems under the broad headings of governance systems and structures; theoretical aspects as they relate to democracy and development; governance at the international level and its impact on the small states of the Caribbean; and the vital role that the state, the public and private sectors and other branches of the regional society play in promoting good governance. "