The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Member Lines has announced that Barbados is the first Caribbean country to receive its Owen Arthur Scholarship Fund.
The scholarship, named in honour of former Prime Minister of Barbados, the late Professor Owen Seymour Arthur, is an initiative of the FCCA’s Foundation charitable arm. It is intended to support the educational efforts of future generations throughout the Caribbean.
The scholarship also seeks to honour the memory of Professor Arthur, whose work, according to Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill, played an instrumental role in developing partnerships that fostered the growth of the cruise industry as it is known today.
The US $25,000 Owen Arthur Scholarship Fund will be awarded annually in different destinations to either an educational institution or a non-profit organisation. Each year, the winning country will be announced at the FCCA’s Foundation Dinner, at the Seatrade Cruise Global conference in April.
Persons interested in applying for the scholarship fund should click here. The forms for the grant will also be sent to tertiary institutions of learning.
Minister Gooding-Edghill said he was honoured and excited that Barbados was the first recipient of the “groundbreaking” scholarship.
“I am pleased to announce that today marks the official launch of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association Foundation’s inaugural Owen Arthur Scholarship. I offer heartfelt gratitude to the entire team at the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association on behalf of the Government, and certainly the Arthur family and the Ministry of Tourism.
“The introduction of the FCCA inaugural Owen Arthur Scholarship is therefore, in great measure, an extension of the close relationships cultivated between Barbados and the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association. The funding available through this scholarship presents a significant opportunity for deserving entities to receive the necessary financial aid to continue the groundwork previously started,” he stated.
Mr. Gooding-Edghill added that Barbados looks forward to continuing working with the FCCA, as the island seeks to be the leading southern Caribbean porting destination.
FCCA’s Chief Executive Officer, Michele Paige, who created the scholarship, said: “The Owen Arthur Scholarship Fund was created to honour a man who created the ability for the FCCA Member Lines and the Caribbean to come together to communicate. He had the vision to be able to have us work together and that is why we are so proud to have this scholarship in his name.”
Also present for the FCCA’s Foundation’s Owen Arthur Scholarship launch was the wife of the late Professor Arthur, Julie Arthur; his daughter, Sabina Worrell-Wood; and other BTMI officials.
Mrs. Arthur said: “As a family, we are truly humbled by this. The FCCA’s vision to honour my late husband is commendable. They would have recognised his work and his contribution towards the cruise industry, and we are truly grateful for that. And it is our desire, as a family, to keep his legacy alive wherever possible.”