Above: Martinique Regional Council President Serge Letchimy

By the Caribbean Journal staff

It’s now a popular programme in Europe: a university student from one EU member state spends three months or more living and studying abroad at a school in another country.

It’s called ERASMUS, and it’s been around for two decades. (It was made famous by the French movie “L’Auberge espagnole” starring Romain Duris.)

But could this programme work in the Caribbean? Could a Bajan student spend three months of his or her degree programme at a university in Colombia, for example?

That was the idea put forth this week by Martinique Regional Council President Serge Letchimy, who was attending the Association of Caribbean States summit in Mexico.

The idea put forth by Letchimy would create an ERASMUS Caribbean programme, enabling young students to continue their studies in one of the 30 countries that make up the Greater Caribbean.

The idea would be particularly helpful in a region with so many different languages, according to Letchimy, allowing for linguistic exchange with “long-term immersion.”

Of course, it could also help develop a pan-Caribbean identity.

“Lack of communication builds inequality,” Letchimy said.