The Institute of Caribbean Studies at UWI, Mona hosts the inaugural Rastafari Studies Conference in recognition of two anniversaries namely; the 50th anniversary of the “Report on the Rastafari Movement” and 80th anniversary of the Rastafari movement and the Birthday of Pan African champion and first national hero, the Honourable Marcus Garvey. The Conference takes place on August 17-20, 2010 under the joint chairmanship of VC Emeritus Professor Rex Nettleford and Professor Emeritus, Sir Roy Augier. The event is themed, “Negotiating the African Presence: Rastafari Livity and Scholarship.”

2010 will mark 50 years since the Report on the Rastafari Movement in Kingston was first published by the then University College of the West Indies, now, the University of the West Indies, Mona. This Report authored by M.G. Smith, Roy Augier and Rex Nettleford validated the University’s sense of social responsibility and remains one of its most successful