Staff of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat are benefitting from a new in-house training facility, the Learning Resource Centre (LRC), which is intended to strengthen the capability of the executive arm of the Caribbean Community. The implementation of the project was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) within the Extension of the Caribbean Regional Institutional Strengthening Project (CRISP). The sum of CDN$50,000 was utilised to acquire training material in print, audio, video and electronic formats and related equipment.

The LRC will officially come on stream following a simple ceremony on Thursday 3 May, 2001. CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington and Acting Canadian High Commissioner, Mr Kamoji Wachiira will participate in the opening of the Centre which will be housed in the Juman Building on High Street, Kingston. The facility offers staff self- directed learning facilities, employing traditional and information technology-based resources in a series of disciplines and topics.

The Organisational Development Programme of the Secretariat initiated the project in 1999 and managed the implementation of the first phase of the LRC project to facilitate on-the-job training in order to maintain high standards of professionalism among staff.

Funding was secured within the CRISP Extension as part of that Project's mandate to improve the planning capacity of the Secretariat, and strengthen its operational ability and systems in support of the implementation of social and economic policy programmes.

The official opening of CARICOM's Learning Resource Centre will take place at 16:30hrs.