The GraceKennedy Foundation
Public Lecture Series
Lecture series
A project of the GraceKennedy Foundation that has become highly regarded and which has impacted nationally is the annual public lecture series.
Since 1989, the Foundation has invited a person of distinction to lecture on a subject of political, economic or social concern to Jamaica and the Caribbean. It is the aim of the Foundation that the lecture should initiate public debate and commentary at all levels of society. To further facilitate this process the lecture is published and circulated to institutions and individuals.
Several of the lectures have become important sources for reference in their fields. A number have been assigned as texts at both the University of the West Indies and the University of Technology. Two titles have been in constant demand by schools and the general public and have had to be reprinted. These are Elsa Leo-Rhynie’s The Jamaican Family: Continuity and Change and Don Robotham’s Vision and Volunteerism.
Previous Lectures
2020s
2025 – Prof. Wendel Abel
Breaking the Cycle on Childhood Trauma
2022 – Dr Fred Kennedy, Dr The Honourable Douglas Orane, CD, Senator Don Wehby, CD.
A Century of Excellence. GraceKennedy’s Recipe for Success
2021 – Vivian Crawford
Jamaica – Tangible and Intangible Heritage: So Much to Tell
2020 – Margaret Jones Williams
The Decade Of Action Begins: The Sustainable Development Goals – Leaving No One Behind
2010s
2019 – Prof Mona Webber, Wayne Henry, Tijani Christian
Clean Kingston Harbour: Pipe Dream or Pot of Gold?
2018 – Dr. Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr.
Tech Charge: Smart Homes, Smart Businesses, Smart Nations
2017 – Dr. Michael Abrahams
Humour, Laughter and Life
2016 – Prof. Marvin Reid
Overfed and Undernourished: Dietary Choices in Modern Jamaica
2015 – Prof. Michael A. Taylor
Why Climate Demands Change
2014- Dr. Fritz Pinnock
From Piracy to Transshipment: Jamaica’s Journey to Becoming a Global Logistics Hub
2013 – Dr. Anna Kasafi
Moral Dis-Ease – Making Jamaica ill? – Re-engaging the conversation on Morality
2012 – James Moss-Solomon
Jamaica and GraceKennedy: Dreams Converging,
Roads Diverging
2011 – Frances Madden
“It’s Not About Me” – Working with Communities: Processes and Challenges The Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation Experience
2010 – Delano Franklyn
Sport in Jamaica, A Local and International Perspective
2000s
2009 – Prof. Anthony Harriott
Controlling Violent Crime: Models & Policy Options
2008 – Richard L. Bernal
Globalization: Everything but Alms – The EPA and Economic Development
2007 – Kenneth Sylvester
Information Communication Technology: Shaping Our Lives
2006 – Maureen Samms-Vaughn
Children Caught in the Cross Fire
2005 – Marjorie Whylie
‘Our Musical Heritage – The Power of the Beat’.
2004 – Dennis Morrison Q.C.
The Citizen and the Law – “Perspectives Old and New”
2003- Dr. Paulline Millbourn Lynch
Wellness: A National Challenge
2002 – Neville Ying, Anthony Irons, Lloyd Goodleigh
Changing with Change: Workplace Dynamics Today and Tomorrow
2001 -Errol Miller
Jamaica in the 21st Century: Contending Choices
2000 – Patrick Bryan
Inside Out and Outside In: Factors in the Creation of Contemporary Jamaica
1980s – 1990s
1999 – Barry Chevannes
What We Sow and What We Reap: The Cultivation of Male Identity in Jamaica
1998 – Don Robotham
Vision & Voluntarism – Reviving Voluntarism in Jamaica
1997 – Gladstone Mills
Westminster Style Democracy – The Jamaican Experience
1996 – Elizabeth Thomas-Hope
The Environmental Dilemma in Caribbean Context
1995 – Lucien Jones
The Jamaican Society – Options for Renewal
1994 – Keith S. Panton
Leadership and Citizenship in Post- Independence Jamaica – Whither the Partnership
1993 – Elsa Leo-Rhynie
The Jamaican Family: Continuity & Change
1992 – Burchell Taylor
Free for All? A Question of Morality and Community
1991 – Don Mills
The New Europe, the New World Order, Jamaica and the Caribbean
1990 – Alister McIntyre
Human Resources Development: Its Relevance to Jamaica and the Caribbean