ULP to launch Caribbean and Latin American Institute of Government and Politics
St. Vincent’s governing Unity Labour Party, headed by Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, will soon launch its political education arm.
Gonsalves, speaking at his party’s 22nd anniversary celebration, said one of the weaknesses of the Unity Labour Party is that they haven’t made enough effort to carry out the deep political education which is necessary.
“We have spent a lot of time in government dealing with problems but not enough with the political education of the people”.
“Tonight I’m announcing, and we will launch it formally, that we are launching a Caribbean and Latin American Institute of Government and Politics as the principal educational arm of the Unity Labour Party.”
The leader of the ULP said he would become the board’s chairman, and Augustine Ferdinand will be the organization’s director.
Gonsalves said the political education would be done island-wide.
“We will be carrying out political education all over St. Vincent and the Grenadines and on all the various media platforms so that you will have a greater understanding of how things are happening, how we are evolving, and how better days are ahead,” he said.
In the fields of education and political science, the term “political education” is often seen as a part of “political socialization.” It is a key part of building and strengthening democratic societies, and it is also a tool that political parties need to get things done.
In the area of education, according to Kenneth Prewitt, the Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs and Vice President for Global Centers at Columbia University, programs of political education serve as the foundation for instilling the values appropriate for citizens.
On the other hand, political scientists call it a framework of the government’s activities that aim to mobilize the tasks of nation-building and public inclusion. The political parties’ activities that is to say, political education influences and shapes people as active members of a social and political system.
