A graduate student in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus Lesley Ann Dixon, was judged winner for the Caribbean Region in an International Essay Contest coordinated by the Organization of American States (OAS). The competition was part of activities leading up to the fourth summit of the heads of states and governments which took place in Mar Del Plata, Argentina on November 4 and 5. The contest was open to university students from the 34 member states of the OAS and was structured on a regional basis as follows:- North America, Central America, Caribbean, Andean region, and Mercosur.
The objective of the OAS essay competition was to encourage youth of the western hemisphere to analyze the challenges of the region, stimulating concrete proposals on the topics related to the theme "Creating Jobs to Fight Poverty and Strengthen Democratic Governance." Lesley Ann, who is pursuing the Master of Science in Management of Information Systems Programme, submitted an essay on the topic “Lessons Based on Intra and Extra Regional Experiences" Lesley Ann and the four other winners, were invited to attend the OAS Summit held in Argentina to accept the award and participate as observers in the summit.