WILLEMSTAD/PHILIPSBURG — Communication professionals at regional central banks commonly encounter shared challenges as their organizations move from traditional, closed central banks to more open and transparent institutions. This underscores the significance of collaboration in the area of communication within the region. This was one of the key takeaways from the 1st Regional Central Bank Communication Workshop, held in Curaçao from September
13 to 15. The workshop, titled “Transitioning into a New Era of Central Banking Communications in the Caribbean,” was the initiative of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS). Several regional and international central bank communications professionals convened on our island for the three-day workshop.
CBCS President Richard Doornbosch presided over the official opening of the workshop. Next, David-Jan Jansen (De Nederlandsche Bank) kicked off as keynote speaker, delivering his presentation titled “Communication and Transparency in Central Banks: Research & Practice,” in which he stressed the importance of communication with the general public. Thierry Bangratz & Petr Jakubik (IMF/CARTAC) followed, speaking respectively on communication from a supervisory perspective and on communication concerning financial stability. David Hofman (IMF) highlighted the evolution of communication from a monetary policy perspective. Paul Badertscher (Bank of Canada) presented on the transformation of communication from the perspective of the Central Bank of Canada. Special guest speaker Volodymyr Lepushynskyi (National Bank of Ukraine), traveling to Curaçao from the war zone, gave a presentation on monetary policy in times of crisis and its associated communication, citing recent examples from the Central Bank of Ukraine.
The keynote addresses were interspersed with various island cases presented by Bank of Jamaica, the Central Bank of Barbados, the Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, and the CBCS. “Central banks, as public entities, need to strike the right balance between, on the one hand, maintaining their identity as prudentially responsible regulators
transitioning into more open and accessible authorities, and, on the other hand, taking into account the spirit of the times and speaking a language that the community understands,” said Nancy Guttenberg-van der Wal, Head of Corporate Communications at the CBCS. The conference was moderated by Marek Petruš, an international communications consultant specializing in the field of central banks. Petruš also delivered an introductory presentation titled “Enhancing Transparency and Communications: Present-Day Challenges (& Opportunities) in the Caribbean.”
Other workshop participants were Centrale Bank van Aruba, Centrale Bank van Suriname, the Central Bank of the Bahamas and the Central Bank of Belize.
The workshop, considered a great success by the participants, also saw the official establishment of a communications network among the participating central banks. CBCS envisions this as the start of a lasting tradition, with a different central bank taking on the organizing responsibilities for each subsequent event.
