First let me congratulate UNESCO, UNICA and UWI for taking the initiative to host this Conference, and let me say how much I have enjoyed the enthusiastic advocacy for this field by Ms. Helene-Marie Gosselin of UNESCO. Her quarterly reports on Education and HIV/AIDS are a joy to read, both for substance and method of presentation. I also wish to congratulate Professor Kochhar and PVC Hamilton of the University of the West Indies for their work in organizing the conference which as I understand it is to marshal and galvanize action by and within the education sector, particularly tertiary education against HIV/AIDS to complement and support efforts already being made in other sectors of Government and within civil society. It is impressive to see so many institutions and disciplines taking part. I take it that our main focus will be to discuss the role of the formal education sector in consort with other sectors in addressing the problem of HIV/AIDS. I make a distinction here between the education that is carried out in other sectors to address the problem and the activities that are discharged within the education sector itself, because as you all know well, other sectors can also claim a role in educating the public about HIV/AIDS. Do not think me overly precise to the point of minutiae when I characterize the education sector as a part of the economy as are other sectors, and as containing various systems and resources that are uniquely focused on education. I will try to examine what the institutions, particularly the tertiary ones in the education sector bring to the table that will be a critical complement to the offerings of other sectors and their institutions. I will attempt to separate tertiary education per se from the responsibilities of the tertiary institutions of the education sector. Formal education is only one of the responsibilities of the institutions in the sector. As a matter of history, the Caribbean response has from early been multisectoral and although the health sector defended the thesis that the main reason for the concern about the epidemic was that it causes ill health and death, there was ready acceptance that the response went beyond the kinds of expertise that was traditionally found in the health systems of our countries. Indeed the initial signatories to the Pan Caribbean Partnership for the fight against HIV/AIDS were two Prime Ministers, Peter Piot of UNAIDS and myself. UNAIDS represented the multisectoriality of the UN system's approach to the problem of HIV/AIDS. I like to think that even at that early stage it was clear that the health sector, the education sector and many others had to work in a partnership with other sectors and the representation at the highest political level showed that there was a multisectoral perspective. The education sector brings to this partnership a unique set of resources human, informational, organizational, physical and financial. In addition to the institutions of the sector that are the main focus of this conference, it brings pedagogical and research skills that are unique. The question is how will the application of those skills and resources advance the fight against HIV/AIDS. I have read some of the extensive literature on education and HIV/AIDS and have been impressed with the attention given to the impact of the epidemic on the human and financial resources of the sector. I have been also taken with the predominant emphasis on the schools as a critical part of the sector and the focus on the young. The Inter-Agency Task Team on Education that was formed by UNAIDS, in elaborating an overall strategy, prioritized certain actions that the sector should consider with a focus on reducing individual risk as well as vulnerability that derived from the societal context. These were; * Efforts to ensure that teachers are well prepared and supported in their work on HIV/AIDS through pre-service and in-service education and training; * Preparation and distribution of scientifically - accurate, good quality teaching and learning materials on HIV/AIDS, communication and life skills; * Promotion of life skills and peer education with children and young people, and among teachers themselves; * Elimination of stigma and discrimination, with a view to respecting human rights, and encouraging greater openness concerning the epidemic; * Support for school health programs that combine school health policies, a safe and secure school environment for both teachers and learners, skills-based health education and school health services that explicitly address HIV/AIDS * Promotion of policies and practices that favour gender equity, school attendance and effective learning. …