Symposium
Integrity Symposium
The Integrity Chamber hosted its first Integrity Symposium. This symposium, with the theme: “Building Integrity to Build a Nation”, aimed to stimulate a national discussion and offer new ideas about the foundational elements of integrity for building a stronger Sint Maarten. Various stakeholders within Sint Maarten and the Kingdom were invited. The public could also participate virtually via the Facebook or YouTube pages of the Integrity Chamber.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/IntegrityChamberSXM
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@integritychambersintmaarten
Event Details
Date: Friday, May 26th, 2023
Time: 1:00PM – 6:30PM
Location: American University of the Caribbean
Program
Itinerary | Time Frame | Description |
Arrival Period | 1:00pm – 2:00pm | Guests were registered and seated by the event manager. |
Start of Event | 2:00pm – 2:10pm | The event was opened by the MC. |
First Speaker | 2:10pm – 2:20pm | Opening address by the Prime Minister. |
Second Speaker | 2:20pm – 2:40pm | Address by the President of the Integrity Chamber. |
First Keynote | 2:40pm – 3:10pm | Keynote by Mr. Dion Abdool. |
Second Keynote | 3:10pm – 3:40pm | Keynote by Prof. Trevor Munroe. |
Break | 3:40pm – 4:00pm | The attendees were offered refreshments. |
Panel Discussion | 4:00pm – 5:00pm | The moderator led the panel discussion where questions were asked by both the moderator and the guests (in-person and online.) The panellists included the keynote speakers and members of the Integrity Chamber Rafael Boasman and Hans Lodder. |
Closing Remarks | 5:00pm – 5:15pm | The MC and the director of the Integrity Chamber gave the closing remarks. |
Reception | 5:15pm – 6:30pm | Social with speakers and guests. |
Meet The Speakers
Mrs. H.W. (Rian) Vogels
Speaking at the event was the president of the Integrity Chamber, Mrs. H.W. (Rian) Vogels. Vogels is the first president of the Integrity Chamber and was appointed by Kingdom Decree. Vogels has an extensive career of over 20 years in the judicial field in the Netherlands, where she practiced law and also served as a senior judge. Her vast experience in integrity matters throughout her career is exemplified by her serving on several supervisory boards, as a member of the Hague Court’s Recusal Committee (Wrakingskamer), and as mediator and deputy secretary of the Disciplinary Board for Accountants. She is also chair of the National Mining Damage Committee (Commissie Mijnbouwschade).
Mr. Dion M. Abdool
One of the keynote speakers for the symposium was Mr. Dion Abdool from Trinidad and Tobago. Mr. Abdool is a Board Member of Transparency International and immediate past Chair of the Trinidad and Tobago Transparency Institute. He is an Attorney at Law with over 20 years of experience in the corporate environment and holds a Masters Degree in Law (Corporate and Commercial). Mr. Abdool is a Chartered Secretary, a fellow of the Corporate Governance Institute (FCG), and a graduate of the Harvard Business School (GMP). He has facilitated workshops, presentations and presented papers locally, regionally and internationally on areas such as governance, risk management, strategic planning, diversity, integrity in public life and procurement systems.
Professor Emeritus Trevor Munroe
Also a keynote speaker was Professor Trevor Munroe, the Director of National Integrity Action in Jamaica. He is a member of the International Council of Transparency International, one of only 30 globally and the only such from the Caribbean. Professor Munroe has a First Class Honours Degree and a Masters in Government from UWI, and attained his PhD in Political Science from Oxford University. He has produced National Integrity System country studies of Jamaica, the Turks & Caicos Islands, and the Caribbean.