Internationally recognised Caribbean economist and scholar, the late Professor Norman Girvanwas on Monday posthumously honoured by the Government of Cuba for his outstanding contribution
to wider Caribbean integration and for his commitment to and support of the ideals of the
Cuban Revolution.
At a ceremony held Monday at the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) the
Cuban Government in a proclamation accompanying the Medal of Friendship presented to his
widow Jasmin, hailed Girvan’s work as an educator, regional official and champion of the
cause of freedom and independence in the wider Caribbean. Girvan served as a senior
academic at the University of the West Indies and as Secretary General of the Association
of Caribbean States (ACS) prior to his untimely death in 2014.
But it is his role in helping to win the release from a US prison of the famous Cuban Five
that Girvan is most appreciated by the Government and People of Cuba. The Cuban Five were
among guests at the ceremony that was also attended by top government officials, members
of the Caribbean diplomatic Corps here, a number of leading academics from across the
region and the current Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).
The presentation ceremony was held ahead of the formal opening Tuesday of the 9th
International Conference of the Caribbean Studies Center at the University of Havana. In
accepting the award Mrs. Girvan described her late husband “as a true friend of the Cuban
Revolution and the Cuban people who admired the progress your country has made over the
years despite the blockade.” She thanked the government and people of Cuba for the honor
and recognition bestowed on her late husband.
Jamaican born Girvan at the time of his death served as the United Nations Good Officer
in the quest for a solution to the ongoing border controversy between Venezuela and Guyana.