I am delighted that the cooperation between The University of the West Indies and Duke University has expanded beyond cooperation in the Nursing programme to include the Social Sciences, Humanities and Liberal Arts.  This Symposium being held under the theme “States of Freedom: Freedom of States” to be held at the Mona Campus in Kingston, Jamaica may be more timely than its organisers realised when they first conceptualised it!  Since the organisers first brought the idea to my attention late in 2009, the region has been faced with several challenges ranging from natural disasters to issues of crime and security, all of which impinge on issues of leadership and how leaders and collective leadership operate within their spheres of authority, constrained or not, as the case may be, by national, regional and international conditions, conditionalities and obligations.  The higher education sector and universities in particular have a role to play in finding solutions to myriad problems facing nations whether they relate to the natural environment, economic, political or social dimensions. 

This Symposium will provide a forum for introspection, analysis and positing of solutions to some of the challenges facing not just the Caribbean, as some of the problems facing our region are also those being faced by other countries and regions across the world.   

My very best wishes are extended to the organising team and to all the participants for a most successful Symposium!

E. Nigel Harris
Vice Chancellor