Trinidad and Tobago Schools Stamp Design Competition in Honour of Eric Williams Centenary

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago – The Eric Williams Memorial Collection (EWMC) at The University of the West Indies and the Trinidad & Tobago Postal Corporation (TT Post) announce the Eric Williams Centenary Stamp Design Competition, co-sponsored by UNESCO (Trinidad and Tobago) and Kelly Services Customs Brokerage, Ltd. The contest runs from January 30 to April 30, 2010.

Since September 25, 2011 marks the 100th birthday of this “Father of the Nation,” Trinidad and Tobago’s Fifth and Sixth Form students are being asked to design a series of commemorative stamps in his honour, an added 50 cents of which will be donated to a Trinidad and Tobago charity. The Centenary stamp, with winner’s and school’s names included, will be sold, subject to availability, from January 1 to December 31, 2011.

Eric Williams was the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and head of government for 25 years until his death in 1981. He was also an internationally-renowned historian whose groundbreaking work, the 65-year-old Capitalism and Slavery, not only re-framed the historiography of the British trans-Atlantic slave trade, but also established the contribution of Caribbean slavery to the development of both Britain and America.

Popularly referred to as The Williams Thesis, the book continues to inform today’s ongoing debate and remains “years ahead of its time…this profound critique is still the foundation for studies of imperialism and economic development,” according to the New York Times.

Competition judges are: Adrian Camps Campins, historical artist; Kenwyn Crichlow, artist; Kari Elliot, TT Post; Albert Sydney, philatelist. Each school is expected to host its own in-house competition and enter only two students in the national contest. Rules and regulations are being distributed via colour poster to all eligible schools.