CARIMAC

October 2023 Updates

Events

THE GRAPHIX PROJECT (GP) - A HUMAN RIGHTS GRAPHIC HISTORY PROJECT

On Friday, September 29, 2023, Dr. Livingston White and Mrs. Chevonnese Chevers Whyte met with Mr. Christian Clark, an Emmy Award-winning writer (Sesame Street), and renowned Cartoonist. The meeting was organised to hold discussions on CARIMAC’s contribution to his initiative, The Graphix Project (GP), the objective of which is to promote change on critical social issues by using graphic history books, comics, and animation. GP is a joint initiative with McGill University, The Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and Yale University’s Orville H. Schell Jr. Center for International Human Rights Law, where Mr. Clark is currently a visiting fellow. He is scheduled to meet with Animation and Journalism students on Thursday, November 2, 2023, to discuss stories on Human Rights from their perspectives.

2023 ROBOTICS OLYMPICS

MarcAnthony Eaton, third-year Digital Media Production student coached the Jamaica Robotics Team that won gold medal at the Robotics Olympics held in Singapore October 7-10, 2023. The team won the Kathrine Johnson Award for engineering documentation, which is presented to the group that best demonstrates the journey they took in building their robot. The team was interviewed by TVJ’s Smile Jamaica host Simone Clarke on October 18, 2023, and in response to her question, “How was the coach?” the team’s captain Johnathon Smith answered, “Amazing...this is his first year as coach...learning from him has been a great experience. He’s extremely knowledgeable so I would not have done as well as we did if he wasn’t here.” His interview may be viewed at:

24- HOUR ANIMATION CONTEST FOR STUDENTS

BFA Animation students participated in the 24-Hour Animation Contest for Students, an international competition hosted by professor in Animation, Aubry Mintz, from California State University, Long Beach. The competition is an annual international event for university and high school students. Participants in teams of five, were required to create a 30-second animation product in 24 hours, based on a theme chosen by Prof. Mintz. The event is in its 21st year and this was CARIMAC’s inaugural entry. The global competition ran from 4:00 p.m. Friday, October 13 to 7:00 p.m. Saturday, October 14, 2023, and CARIMAC’s team participated from Annex II.

CARIMAC’s WEEKLY RESEARCH SEMINAR

On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, CARIMAC had its first Research Seminar for the 2023/2024 academic year. Ms. Audrey Saddler, Librarian at The UWI Mona Main Library, made a presentation on UWIScholar. The next seminar was held on October 25, 2023, and featured a presentation by Australian-based lecturer in Animation, Dr. Charles DaCosta. The title of his presentation was “Deploying the Theory-Practice Nexus for Effective Non-Traditional Research Outputs (NTROs).”

ACADEMIC CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND PRESENTATIONS

Dr. Alpha Obika, Ms. Rae-ann Smith and Mrs. Chevonnese Chevers Whyte participated in the 41st West Indian Literature Conference held October 9-14, 2023. The conference was preceded by a three-day writing workshop under the theme “Caribbean Connections: A View of the Future from ‘Here’,” which was a collaborative effort by The Department of Literatures in English, The UWI Mona, The British Academy and The University of Bristol. The workshop was held from October 9-11 in the Multifunction Room, Main Library. Attendees engaged in structured activities, including discussions with experienced researchers and editors specialising in books and journals, focusing on strategies for successful peer-reviewed publication and grant applications. Ms. Smith submitted a work-in-progress article titled "Things You Lose in the Ocean: The author, AI, and Caribbean screenwriting” for peer review. The conference was held October 12-14 at The UWI Regional Office. Ms. Smith presented a paper on "Danger, Damage, and Difference in David Chariandy's Brother," on October 14, and Dr. Obika presented a paper titled "Man Out for Change: An analysis of Black Stalin's calypso and its role in documenting 1970 Black Power Revolution in Trinidad."

TEDxPORTOFSPAIN 2023 CONFERENCE

Ms. Kimiko Scott, Assistant Lecturer, hosted the 11th staging of the TEDxPortofSpain Conference held on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, at the Central Bank Auditorium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. TEDx events are independently organised, licensed by the global TED Talks brand, which is known as a platform for ideas worth spreading. The events are not-for-profit, and involve the presenters giving the 'talk of their lives' in 12-15 minutes. The TEDxPortofSpain.com website has a database of over 100 inspirational and educational talks. Ms. Scott has volunteered with the organising committee for over seven years, taking on roles in speaker-coaching, event coordination, marketing, and volunteer training. This was her third year in the role of host of the event.