OECS announces digital skills scholarships and agricultural symposium

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission has announced the 2026 application period for the Advanced Digital Skills Scholarship Programme. Funded by the World Bank through the Caribbean Digital Transformation Project (CARDTP) and delivered by The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Global Campus, the program aims to address regional shortages in specialized digital competencies. Applications for the second cohort will open on September 10 and close on September 20, 2026, for citizens of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Anguilla.

In a separate regional initiative, the OECS Commission and the Government of Grenada hosted the second Youth and Women in Agriculture Symposium in St. George’s, Grenada. The event gathered over 150 stakeholders to address regional food security vulnerabilities, noting that the Caribbean currently imports the majority of its food at an annual cost of US$658 million. The symposium focused on transforming agriculture into a technology-driven agribusiness sector involving artificial intelligence, precision drones, and digital marketing to foster regional sovereignty and economic resilience.