St. George’s, Grenada – May 15, 2025 – For the tenth year, Grenada Co-operative Bank Limited was the title sponsor of the Carol Bristol Distinguished Lecture Series, presented in partnership with the University of the West Indies (UWI) Global Campus Grenada, to fulfill their mandate for public advocacy and engaging community.
Grenada Co-operative Bank has sponsored the Carol Bristol Distinguished Lecture Series since its inception in 2015. Delivering welcome remarks at the lecture on May 6th, Mr. Willvorn Grainger, Co-op Bank’s Chief Experience Officer, explained the Bank’s commitment to this lecture series. “As Grenada’s only indigenous commercial bank, with a vested interest in the development of our country, we take our role as a local institution seriously. This is why Grenada Co-operative Bank Limited has education as one of its major pillars of corporate social responsibility and continues to support initiatives like these. We want to afford our population the opportunity to hear from subject matter experts and be edified on topical matters.”
The 2025 Carol Bristol Distinguished Lecture was presented by Dr. Godfrey St. Bernard, a renowned regional and international demographer and social statistician. During his presentation, Dr. St. Bernard explored the theme “Harnessing People, Data, and Information Systems for Sustainable Development Trajectories in 21st Century Grenada” and emphasized the importance L-R: James Bristol, K.C.; Dr. Godfrey St. Bernard; Willvorn Grainger, Chief Experience Officer, Grenada Co-operative Bank Limited of holistic data collection to make decisions. “Development, first and foremost, is about the people. And we need to understand who are these people, how many of them exist, and how they are located in spaces,” explained Dr. St. Bernard. “Census taking and sample surveys are critical imperatives if you have to meet the needs of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators, especially in terms of facilitating some of the ideals that will permit us to begin to gauge issues of equality, equity and to what extent we are moving towards social justice.”
The Carol Bristol Distinguished Lecture Series acknowledges the contributions of the late Carol Bristol, QC, who served as chairman of the UWI Global Campus territorial advisory committee. “The linchpin of any successful society is education,” remarked Mr. James Bristol, KC. “This lecture series is part and parcel, and one of the many spokes in that wheel of education.” Grenada Co-operative Bank continues to contribute to the success of our society through educational initiatives, including annual scholarships and special education savings and financing solutions with unique features to meet the population’s varying needs. This, according to Mr. Grainger, is to “ensure that our people are well poised to first develop themselves and then to contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of Grenada.”
