Dr. Harry Belafonte, well-regarded as a pioneer in popularizing Caribbean music forms overseas and Digicel CEO & Founder, Dennis O'Brian, topped the list of awardees honoured at the 11th American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) black tie gala at the Waldorf Astoria, New York on Monday, January 28, 2008.

Dr. Belafonte, patron of the event since its inception, is being recognized for his commitment to the University of the West Indies for the past ten years, and in celebration of his 80th birthday.

The annual gala is a stellar event on the programme of AFUWI which was established in 1956 to develop an endowment fund in the USA for UWI and now serves as the primary vehicle for the university in its capital campaign and fund raising efforts there.

At this year's gala, special awards were presented to Professor Anthony Chen, Dr. John Agard and Dr. Leonard Nurse, three UWI staff who were members of the Inter-Governmental Panel for Climate Control which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore.

Luminary awards which are given to Caribbean persons who have made outstanding contributions in their respective fields were awarded to Dr. Rollin Bertrand, CEO of TCL Group of Companies; Winston Bayley, Chief Financial Officer of The University of the West Indies; Minna Israel, Managing Director Designate, RBTT Bank Jamaica Ltd.; Paul Altman, Managing Director, Altman Real Estate; Vincent HoSang, Founder and CEO, Caribbean Food Delights; and Stephen Cozier, Vice President for Caribbean and Central America at the Bank of Nova Scotia.

The Vice Chancellor's achievement awards for persons of Caribbean heritage in North America who are rising stars in their organizations were awarded to Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League; Reggie Canal, First Vice President of HSBC; Noel Hankin, Sr. Vice President of Moet Hennessy; Ray Goldburn, Executive Vice President of Black Entertainment Television; Colbert Narcisse, Chief Administrative Officer of Merrill Lynch; and Roy Hastick, Founder of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.

Mr. Kenneth DeGhetto, Retired Chairman of Foster Wheeler Incorporated and former chairman of the American Foundation for The University of the West Indies received an award for his service to the Foundation and the University.

Successive AFUWI galas have honoured a host of individuals and organizations linked to the Caribbean who have made exceptional contributions to the world around them. They have included: Maya Angelou, Colin Powell, Sidney Poitier, Whoopi Goldberg, Johnetta Cole, Cicely Tyson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Al Roker and Hon. Dr. Jimmy Cliff. Several companies including AMOCO, ALCAN, Chevron Texaco, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Citibank and Atlantic LNG, have also been recognized.

Seven Caribbean Prime Ministers were honoured in 2002, including: The Rt. Hon. P.J. Patterson, Jamaica; Dr. the Hon. Kenny Anthony, St. Lucia; The Rt. Hon. Owen Arthur, Barbados; Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas, St. Kitts & Nevis; Dr. the Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, The Hon. Patrick Manning, Trinidad & Tobago and Dr. the Hon. Keith Mitchell of Grenada.

AFUWI has over the past decade provided many scholarships and grants and funded special projects to foster the development of the UWI.