WITHOUT A GROUNDING in the basics of science and technology it will be increasingly difficult for young people to find gainful employment in today's world. Minister of Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Business Development, Senator Lynette Eastmond, issued this caution yesterday while delivering the feature address at the official opening of the three-day Sci-Tech/Green Expo at Sherbourne Conference Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael. Eastmond pointed out that the world was operating more and more in an age of science and technology. She observed that there had been a significant expansion in the quantum and diversity of information in recent years, and acknowledged that it was quite easy for the individual to be overwhelmed by the information. The Government senator noted that under these circumstances, the National Council for Science and Technology (NCST) had accepted the challenge of educating the public on basic scientific facts and principles. According to Eastmond, the council had been carrying out these duties in language that "a man or woman in the street can understand". She suggested that if Barbados was to continue to prosper and develop, it would be important to attract some of the country's brightest youngsters into the field of science and technology. Noting that this year's exhibition was a collaborative effort between Greening Barbados, headed by president of the Nation Publishing Co., Ltd., Harold Hoyte, and Government, Eastmond bemoaned the fact that many Barbadians were guilty of abusing the environment. She said that illegal dumping predisposed the society to deadly diseases such as those spread by mosquitoes and rodents. Meanwhile, in his address, director of NCST, Lennox Chandler, argued that Barbadians' understanding of science and technology was critical if they were to make informed decisions on those aspects of science and technology that impacted directly on their lives. "It would be foolhardy to create a culture of science when the very people you are creating it for do not understand the basics of what you are trying to do," Chandler said. The official opening of the Expo also featured entertainment by the Douglas Foundation Dance and Drama Group, while a science demonstration was done by Olwyn Gordon of National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology and Combermere student, Christopher Layne. (NC)
|
