Public Outreach

The Annual Sir Winston Scott Memorial Lecture is sponsored by the Bank and dedicated to the memory of Barbados' first native Governor General Sir Winston Scott who died on August 9, 1976. The lecture is held each year in November or December and is delivered by noted intellectuals, experts in their field. Lectures have been delivered on a range of areas eg: Economics, Science, Culture, Health and Religion. Copies are available from the bank. Learn more

The Central Bank of Barbados Distinguished Visiting Fellowship programme exposes Barbadians and Caribbean nationals to eminent international economists. Through this programme, these economists share their latest research, and bring attention to imminent developments in the areas of economics and finance. Learn more.

The Caribbean Economic Forum tackles the many issues confronting the region, and offers its peoples the opportunity to hear from and pose their questions to leading thinkers in the field of economics, finance, and more.

In 2020, in response to the ongoing pandemic, the forum, which began as part of the Bank’s Distinguished Visiting Fellowship Programme saw its format was revamped, transforming it from a once-a-year event into a six-part series that features policymakers, technical experts, and people in the trenches.

Hosted jointly by the Bank and the Financial Services Commission, the Domestic Financial Institutions Conference offers a forum for members of the financial sector to discuss local and international issues affecting the sector.

Since 1981, the Central Bank of Barbados’ Annual Review Seminar has provided a forum for stimulating policy-related discussions among economists, academics, and other policymakers from within the economic and financial disciplines, as well as practitioners from other areas of expertise.

In support of the interaction between the Bank and it stakeholders a number of educational programmes were launched. These are in the format of short television series

• “Foreign Exchange: the lifeblood of our Economy”
• “Sharpening the Competitive Edge”
• “Economic Policies that work the Caribbean Experience”
• “It Matters Fiscally”
• “CBB 101”

To help constituents understand how the economy and the Bank’s policy works the Governor and Senior Management from time to time engage in meetings with key stakeholders. This includes meetings with governmental and private sector entities such as the Social Partnership, the business community and other special interest groups.

The Bank supports a series of scholarships including the

• Central Bank Scholarship for outstanding performance in Economics and Mathematics at the University of the West Indies. The Bank has been awarding this scholarship to Barbadian students at the Cave Hill Campus, since 1977. In addition the successful candidate benefit from a summer internship at the Bank.
• SPISE scholarship. The Bank sponsors a student in the Student Programme for Innovation in Science and Engineering (SPISE). This is an intensive four-week enrichment residential summer programme for gifted Caribbean high school students between the ages of 15 – 17 who are interested in studying and exploring careers in science and engineering.
• DeLa Rue Scholarship. De La Rue, the manufacture of the Barbadian banknotes, is the sponsor of a biennial award valued at BD$ 35,000. The Scholarship is open to nationals of Barbados who are pursuing a full-time postgraduate MSc. Programme or who are in the final year of an MPhil/PhD programme in Economics or Finance at UWI, Cave Hill Campus.