In appreciation of the yeoman service they rendered to the field of statistics in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), former Directors of Statistics were awarded on 5 November at the conclusion of a CARICOM Population and Housing Census Symposium in Placencia, Belize.

Mr. Halim Brizan, Director, Regional Statistics, CARICOM Secretariat, presented the tokens to Ms. Carol Coy, former Director-General, Statistical Institute of Jamaica; Mr. Edwin St. Catherine, former Director of Statistics, Saint Lucia; Mr. Iwan Sno, former Director, General Bureau of Statistics, Suriname; and Dr. Leopold Perriott, former Director-General, Statistical Institute of Belize. Representatives of Ms. Siobhan Tuitt, former Chief Statistician, Statistics Department, Montserrat; and Andre Blanchard, former Director of Statistics, Central Statistical Office of Trinidad and Tobago, accepted the awards on their behalf.

At the day-long Census Symposium, Directors of Statistics, policymakers and other stakeholders shared their experiences of the 2020 Round of CARICOM Population and Housing Censuses and made recommendations for conducting the 2030 Round.

The Symposium was one of several statistics-related events held in Belize early in November. The events included a one-day High-Level Advocacy Forum on Statistics, meetings of the Advisory Group on Statistics (AGC), and the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians, and a CARICOM Regional Research Seminar.