According to former Jamaican Prime Minister and statesman PJ Patterson, who is a resident at the PJ Patterson Institute for Africa Caribbean Advocacy, the Board of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has authorized funding for a ground-breaking artificial intelligence hub.
Patterson made the news during the Institute’s second annual conference, which covered the topic “Educational Transformation in Africa and the Caribbean” and brought together leaders at the University of the West Indies’ regional headquarters in Mona, Kingston.
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The goal of this project is to change the region’s standing in the global educational, technical, and geopolitical arenas.
Patterson emphasized that education is the vital force behind sustainable growth and the transformation of global trade, saying that only the “least enlightened can fail to see education as the key to human development.
The effort arose primarily in reaction to a challenge presented during the Afreximbank Annual Meeting in Nassau last year by Professor Benedict Okechukwu Oramah, the Nigerian economist who is the bank’s president and chairman of the board of directors. Since then, the Institute has put in countless hours to build this groundbreaking artificial intelligence project with the help of two of its esteemed scholars. Now that the board has approved funding for the establishment of the AI hub, their efforts have paid off.
The center will act as a hub for innovation, research, and digital education, putting African and Caribbean peoples in a position to shape the future of technology rather than just be participants in it.
The center promises to give the next generation the resources they need to navigate and shape the global technological landscape, with cooperation agreements approaching conclusion and financial documentation almost complete.
Beyond the AI center, Patterson stated, the Institute’s ambition includes collaborations throughout the diaspora to fill shortages in educational resources, support laws that prioritize African identity in education, and provide forums for fruitful scholarly interchange.
He highlighted that the “survival of our heritage and the ascendancy of our people in the modern world hinge upon education—education rooted in truth, authenticity, and the undeniable contribution of African civilization throughout the ages to global progress”.
Patterson stated, “For far too long, has the history of Africa been misrepresented; its intellectual and cultural contributions diminished or erased.” He further noted, “Today, we intend to set the record straight. The very foundations of human knowledge—mathematics, medicine, architecture, philosophy—all bear the indelible imprint of African ingenuity.”
Patterson emphasized education’s wider function as the foundation of national progress and global impact, even as he acknowledged that it was essential for individual achievement.
He explained that rather than competing with current educational institutions, the Institute’s goal enhance them. He stated, “It is not the aim or intent of the Institute to usurp the role or trespass on the functions of ministries, universities, faculties, or professionals in the realm of education; but if we are to truly liberate our people, we must first unshackle the mind.”
Patterson went on to express a vision that goes beyond merely acknowledging prior accomplishments.
To ensure that all children in Africa, the Caribbean, and the larger Diaspora recognize themselves in the history they are taught, recognize their value in the present, and are equipped to confidently shape the future, he emphasized that the way forward requires dedication to creating institutions that reflect African and Caribbean values.
