2004 Press Releases

Video Conference on GLOBE Program and the White Water to Blue Water Partnership

March 23, 2004

On Wednesday, March 24, 2004, at 1:00pm, the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section at 7-9 Marli Street, will host a LIVE Video Conference between students of several Trinidad schools (including those from El Dorado Senior Comprehensive, Naparima Girls, St. Mary’s College, Providence Girls and the International School of Port of Spain) and students at the Miami Springs Middle School in Miami, Florida, as well as participants currently attending the White Water to Blue Water (WW2BW) Partnership Conference at the Miami Hyatt Regency Hotel (March 21-26). The Conference in Miami kicks off the WW2BW Partnership, an initiative announced at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. The White Water to Blue Water Partnership is another tangible example of the Bush Administration's integrated approach of promoting environmental conservation, social development and more secure economies in the developing world.

The goal of the Wednesday, March 24 Video Conference will be to highlight the GLOBE Program and its importance to the White Water to Blue Water Partnership Initiative.

The GLOBE program, which stands for “Global Learning to Benefit the Environment”, was initiated in 1994 by the US Government to enhance worldwide student awareness of scientific and environmental issues. The program has primary and secondary students from around the world making important environmental observations at their schools and recording them via an Internet database that can be used by the world scientific community. In Trinidad and Tobago, 33 schools have signed up with the program. The US Embassy supports the Globe Program in Trinidad and Tobago by providing teaching materials, resources and by speaking at training seminars.

Also participating in the Wednesday Video Conference will be US Ambassador Dr. Roy L. Austin and The Honorable Senator Hazel Manning, Minister of Education. Ambassador Austin’s participation in this Video Conference confirms the United States commitment to regional watershed and marine ecosystem management and sustainable tourism.

Fundamental to this global initiative by the US Department of State Office of Oceans and Environmental Sciences is improved communications region-wide between stakeholders at both the governmental and non-governmental levels. The Partnership Conference is focusing on engaging governments, NGOs, universities and the private sector in the Wider Caribbean, including and especially Trinidad and Tobago.

Further information and clarification on the WW2BW conference can be obtained at the Public Affairs Section and on the Internet at http://www.international.nooa.gov/ww2bw and http://www.umiami.gov/ww2bw