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  • Protect Our Children and Women rally planned to raise awareness in Dominica

    Protect Our Children and Women rally planned to raise awareness in Dominica

    In the wake of a high-profile teen murder that has shaken the Caribbean island of Dominica, a local women and children’s rights advocate is mobilizing communities to push for urgent systemic change. Tamanthia Joseph, an entrepreneur and long-time activist for vulnerable groups, has founded a new grassroots collective called Protect Our Children and Women (POCW), organized via a dedicated WhatsApp group, to amplify calls for greater protection of at-risk groups.

    The collective’s first major action is a peaceful protest and public rally, scheduled to kick off at 9:00 AM on Saturday, September 5, 2026, at Dominica’s iconic Botanical Gardens. The event is designed to shine a bright spotlight on the escalating crisis of sexual abuse, exploitation, domestic violence, and other violent harms targeting children and women across the island, issues that Joseph says have long been pushed into the shadows.

    The movement comes in direct response to the recent tragic discovery of Jerbiah Paul, a 16-year-old girl from Portsmouth who had been reported missing. On August 12, 2026, her remains were found in a remote cliffside precipice. Investigations by the Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force have resulted in charges and pre-trial remand for two serving police officers and a woman from Marigot, all connected to Paul’s disappearance and killing. This shocking case, which implicates law enforcement personnel meant to protect the public, has amplified community anger and demand for accountability.

    Joseph explained that her decision to move from online discussions to on-the-ground advocacy came from a growing frustration with unaddressed reports of violence. For far too long, she says, victims have been forced to suffer in silence, even after they file official reports with police and relevant authorities. “Instead of only debating these issues on social media, we needed to come together and take a stand for what is right,” Joseph noted.

    Beyond the rally, POCW has laid out a long-term agenda to support affected communities. The collective plans to hold outreach sessions in local schools to educate children about their rights and risks, host community dialogues to break down stigma around speaking out, and connect survivors of violence with free counselling from qualified mental health professionals. A core demand of the movement is pushing institutions responsible for responding to gender-based and child violence to enforce timely processing of reports and greater transparency around case outcomes.

    “Reporting is key,” Joseph emphasized. “We want to ensure when survivors come forward, these issues are dealt with in a quick and timely manner.” The activist also stressed that the movement aims to remind current and former victims that they are not alone, and that they deserve to be heard, supported, and protected by society. “There are people who really care,” she said.

    Joseph is extending an open invitation to all members of the Dominican public, even those who have never personally experienced abuse or violence. “Don’t wait until it happens to your child, sister, mother, friend or someone you love before you decide to speak up,” she urged. Attendees are encouraged to bring signs and make their voices heard in a peaceful gathering, with the collective’s simple, clear message: “Protect our children. Protect our women. Break the silence.”

    Community members interested in participating or supporting the initiative can join the POCW WhatsApp group or reach organizers directly via phone at 767-613-2651.

  • Wereldwijd bereiden overheden zich voor op historische El Niño

    Wereldwijd bereiden overheden zich voor op historische El Niño

    A rapidly intensifying El Niño, on track to become one of the most severe climate events of the 21st century, is already unleashing catastrophic extreme weather across every major region from South Asia to Central America, forcing governments worldwide to roll out urgent emergency response measures and allocate billions in emergency funding to mitigate damage. El Niño, a naturally occurring climate pattern driven by unusually warm ocean surface temperatures across the central and eastern tropical Pacific, is known to upend global weather systems, elevating the risk of widespread droughts, catastrophic flooding, record-breaking heatwaves, and destructive wildfires. Meteorologists have warned that the 2024–2025 El Niño event is shaping up to be one of the strongest ever recorded. In the Indian Ocean island nation of Sri Lanka, the event has already sparked a crippling, widespread drought that has devastated agricultural regions in the island’s hill country, where laborers tend to the country’s iconic tea crops, one of the nation’s top export commodities. Water levels in hundreds of small local reservoirs across the country have plummeted to just 10% of their total capacity, leaving nearly 72,000 residents across seven hard-hit districts without consistent access to safe drinking water. As of Thursday, a senior Sri Lankan government official confirmed that the national administration has allocated 4.8 billion Sri Lankan rupees, equivalent to approximately $14 million, to fund emergency water trucking operations. Under the current plan, affected households receive 75 liters of water every two to three days, distributed via truck convoys deployed from less arid regions of the country. Sri Lanka’s Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi told reporters that the government initially expected the El Niño peak to arrive around November, but updated forecasts have pushed that timeline forward, requiring an urgent adjustment to national response plans. “We will revise and expand our response measures wherever necessary,” Patabendi stated. While the annual monsoon season is expected to bring heavy rainfall to the island after September, Patabendi warned that drought conditions could reemerge as early as early 2025, prolonging the crisis for vulnerable communities. Thousands of miles away in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is grappling with an unprecedented wildfire crisis amplified by El Niño-driven dry conditions. Since the start of 2024, wildfires have destroyed more than 200,000 hectares of land — an area roughly three times the size of Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta. July alone saw 95,000 hectares burned, as record-dry conditions create ideal fuel for fast-spreading blazes. Thick, toxic smog has blanketed major urban centers including Palangkaraya, the capital of Central Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo, pushing local air quality to hazardous levels. The city’s mayor has advised residents to wear protective face masks and avoid unnecessary time outdoors, while motorists forced to travel navigate dense brown haze that severely reduces visibility on roads. Indonesian Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni announced Wednesday in Palangkaraya that authorities have prepped expert teams to carry out cloud seeding operations, which involve injecting clouds with silver iodide to stimulate rainfall, to extinguish active blazes and prevent new outbreaks. “As soon as there is even the slightest hint of a cloud suitable for seeding, and if it is technically feasible, we will carry out a weather modification operation,” Antoni said. Preparations for extreme El Niño impacts are also underway across the Americas. The United States has announced plans to deploy a military hospital to the coast of Peru next year to help the South American nation manage projected public health and humanitarian impacts from the event. In Central America, Honduras’s government has issued drought emergencies covering 80% of the country’s total territory, including the capital Tegucigalpa. Sustained dry conditions linked to El Niño have destroyed staple crop harvests across the country and caused widespread mortality of livestock, threatening food security for millions of vulnerable Honduran households. As forecasts continue to point to a stronger and longer-lasting event than initially predicted, governments across the globe are accelerating emergency planning to avoid a cascading global climate disaster.

  • Kes and Buju Banton named honorary Grand Marshals for 2026 New York Caribbean Carnival

    Kes and Buju Banton named honorary Grand Marshals for 2026 New York Caribbean Carnival

    For nearly 60 years, the West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA) has been the primary steward of Caribbean cultural celebration in New York, bringing vibrant traditions, music and art to audiences each Labor Day weekend. This year, as the organization prepares for its 59th Annual New York Caribbean Carnival Week and Parade, it has announced a landmark selection for its top honorary role: two of the Caribbean’s most influential contemporary musicians will share the title of Honorary Grand Marshal.\n\nLeading the 2026 celebrations will be Kees Dieffenthaller, frontman of the beloved Trinidadian soca group KesTheBand, and Buju Banton, the globally acclaimed Jamaican reggae and dancehall icon. In an official press release, WIADCA explained that the dual appointment is intentionally aligned with the 2026 carnival theme, “One Caribbean”, which centers on highlighting the enduring cultural connections that bind Caribbean communities, their diaspora populations across North America and beyond, across generational divides, national borders and distinct regional musical traditions.\n\nDieffenthaller has spent his career reshaping the global footprint of soca, one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most iconic modern musical genres. As the lead vocalist and public face of KesTheBand, he has brought the energetic, rhythmic sound of soca to international festival stages and streaming audiences worldwide, all while retaining deep, unbroken ties to his home country’s historic Carnival culture. For his part, Banton has built a decades-long career as one of Jamaica’s most recognizable and respected musical exports, turning his platform into a vehicle to introduce Jamaican and broader Caribbean culture to millions of listeners across every inhabited continent.\n\nWIADCA officials note that the pairing of Dieffenthaller and Banton is more than a celebration of two individual artists—it is a deliberate reflection of the interconnectedness of two foundational Caribbean musical heritages: Jamaica’s world-famous reggae and dancehall traditions, and Trinidad and Tobago’s iconic soca and calypso roots.\n\nIn a statement shared alongside the announcement, the WIADCA Board of Directors expanded on the significance of the selection: “The appointment of Kees Dieffenthaller of KesTheBand and Buju Banton as Honorary Grand Marshals is a powerful representation of what One Caribbean means to us. They have each carried Caribbean music and culture to the world, while remaining deeply rooted in the communities and traditions that shaped them. Their presence at this year’s Labor Day celebrations honors the diversity of our Caribbean heritage while reminding us of the strength we have when we celebrate what unites us.”\n\nIn addition to their leading roles in the annual parade, the two honorees will receive formal recognition at WIADCA’s 59th Annual VIP Breakfast, a key kickoff event for the week of cultural celebrations. The 2026 carnival is produced in formal media partnership with a roster of Caribbean-focused media and cultural entities, including Irie Jam Radio, VP Records, Gargamel Music, Chambers Media Solutions and Schure Media Group. This partnership supports WIADCA’s core mission of expanding access to and celebration of Caribbean cultural heritage for diaspora communities and new audiences alike.

  • Electric by 2027? GOB’s Plan to Overhaul Belize’s Buses

    Electric by 2027? GOB’s Plan to Overhaul Belize’s Buses

    On August 21, 2026, the Government of Belize laid out an ambitious plan to transform the nation’s ailing intercity bus system – a critical service that hundreds of thousands of residents rely on for daily access to work, education, healthcare and basic life necessities – through the introduction of the Public Transportation Investment Bill 2026, tabled during a special sitting of the House of Representatives.

    For Belizeans, intercity bus travel is far more than a simple transit option. It is the lifeline that connects communities across the country. Minister of Transport Louis Zabaneh told legislators that between 8,000 and 12,000 commuters use intercity bus services every single day, and that number surges to between 15,000 and 16,000 during peak travel periods. With such widespread reliance on the system, Zabaneh framed public transit as a core national priority, calling it the undisputed “backbone of the national economy.”

    For decades, however, the sector has suffered from gradual decline. Zabaneh acknowledged that 25 years of deterioration have left the system failing to meet the needs of the daily commuters who depend on it. The government’s solution centers on a full restructuring of the sector led by the newly reinvigorated National Bus Company, which Zabaneh says will deliver widespread benefits for residents across the country.

    Once the restructuring is complete, Zabaneh argues that Belizeans will gain a far more reliable, efficient transit network that serves all geographic regions of the nation equitably, allowing residents to move freely and handle their daily needs without frequent disruptions or unreliable service. Beyond accessibility, the plan also delivers major economic and environmental gains: the current fleet runs almost entirely on diesel, a fossil fuel that drives up import costs for the country, so shifting to lower-emission vehicles will ease both fiscal and environmental burdens. “Our people deserve better,” Zabaneh noted.

    Already, the government has begun rolling out early improvements to the system. The National Bus Company has added eight newer, upgraded buses to its existing fleet, and budget allocations are in place to acquire up to seven additional units in the near term. The government has also allocated $2.5 million for critical infrastructure upgrades at two of the nation’s busiest terminals, in Belmopan and Belize City, to improve passenger experience and operational efficiency.

    Looking ahead to the long-term transformation of the sector, the government has set a bold target: to transition the entire National Bus Company fleet to fully electric buses by the end of 2027. Throughout the planning process, Zabaneh emphasized that the entire overhaul is centered on the needs of daily commuters – a priority that he says should have been at the core of public transit policy all along.

  • Ancillary workers receive August salaries for first time

    Ancillary workers receive August salaries for first time

    A decades-long inequity in compensation for support staff across Saint Lucia’s public education system has been formally resolved, marking a historic win for thousands of low-wage workers who for generations went without pay during the annual August school break. For the first time this year, eligible workers including cafeteria cooks, campus janitors, facility cleaners, and early childhood development center staff have received their full August salaries, a policy change approved as part of the 2024 national budget that was celebrated at an official ceremony Thursday at Castries Comprehensive Secondary School, where workers gathered alongside senior government officials to mark the milestone.

    Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre emphasized that the new policy corrects a longstanding injustice that forced ancillary employees to forgo a full month of pay, even as many are required to report back to campus ahead of the new academic year to prepare facilities for returning students. “You worked your entire life, and those before you worked their entire life, cleaning as janitors, as cooks, as early childhood educators, and for the month of August they had to make a sacrifice,” Pierre told attendees.

    The Prime Minister openly acknowledged that the wages currently paid to many of these frontline workers still do not match the critical value of their contributions to the education system. “We can never pay you enough for cleaning the washrooms, never,” he said. “We’re not paying enough. We need to pay you more, but we can only pay you what a country can afford.”

    Pierre stressed that the August salary provision is a deliberate policy commitment of his administration, and that all eligible workers will receive the benefit regardless of their political affiliation. “Everybody gets the salary,” he said. “When you vote is your business. But the very fact is you get your salary, and that’s what’s important.”

    Education Minister Kenson Casimir, who noted his own grandmother worked as a school janitor for more than 30 years, framed the pay change as a long-overdue recognition of the essential role ancillary staff play in keeping schools running and supporting student success. He highlighted that the extra August income comes at a particularly critical time for working families, who face rising back-to-school costs ahead of the new academic year. “When you work in this country, you must be treated fairly,” Casimir said, adding that the government plans to make the August salary provision a permanent policy moving forward.

    Thursday’s ceremony also gave Casimir a platform to outline a suite of additional new education initiatives rolling out for the upcoming school year. Among these are $500 bursaries for all first-year secondary school students, with funds already disbursed. Laptops designated for Form One students have already arrived in the country and are scheduled to be distributed to learners during the first week of classes.

    The government has also allocated funding to hire 10 new school counsellors and two additional social workers to expand mental health and student support services across the education system. For early childhood development centers, each facility will receive $3,000 in new operational funding at the start of the term, plus an extra $100 per enrolled child to offset program costs. Casimir also reported that nearly 90% of public schools have completed targeted maintenance and upgrades through the national summer works program, putting campuses in good order for the return of students.

  • State of Emergency Declared in Colombia Following Deadly Earthquake

    State of Emergency Declared in Colombia Following Deadly Earthquake

    On August 10, 2026, a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia, triggering one of the worst seismic disasters the nation has seen in modern history. Eleven days after the tremor hit, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced a national state of emergency covering 15 hardest-hit regions, a measure designed to unlock rapid budget reallocation and speed up the government’s disaster response and recovery efforts.

    As of the latest official update, the death toll from the quake has climbed to 319, with more than 4,600 people sustaining injuries and at least 260 people still unaccounted for. Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) confirmed that this earthquake is the deadliest seismic event recorded in the country in recent decades. Emergency search and rescue teams have managed to pull 364 survivors out of the rubble of collapsed buildings across the affected zones.

    The physical destruction caused by the quake is catastrophic. Official statistics show more than 30,000 residential properties have been completely destroyed, and nearly 137,000 additional homes have suffered severe structural damage. Over 300 public and private buildings have collapsed entirely, and critical community infrastructure including schools, hospitals, and transportation networks have sustained widespread damage across western Colombia.

    In major urban centers like Cali and Pereira, structural engineers have deemed hundreds of surviving buildings unsafe for occupancy, issuing formal warnings banning people from reentering the properties. Five regional airports across the country remain inoperable due to severe damage, throwing local and regional transportation networks into disarray.

    For communities near the earthquake’s epicenter in San José del Palmar and across the wider Chocó region, the delivery of life-saving emergency relief has been severely hampered by the destruction of infrastructure. Blocked mountain roads, broken water aqueducts, and a steady stream of ongoing aftershocks continue to slow aid distribution, leaving many remote, isolated communities without access to critical supplies and medical care. The Colombian government estimates that full reconstruction of all damaged and destroyed infrastructure across the country could cost as much as 40 trillion Colombian pesos.

  • Antigua’s Lewis dominant in regional youth tournament

    Antigua’s Lewis dominant in regional youth tournament

    As the fifth annual Aloysius “Loloy” Daniel Youth Basketball Tournament enters its final preliminary round matchday at Beausejour Gymnasium, Thursday’s slate of games delivered standout individual and team performances that have reshaped the tournament’s pre-knockout standings. The night was headlined by a historic individual scoring outburst from Antigua & Barbuda rising star Jayden Lewis, while three-time defending champions New Chapter Academy (NCA) Warriors of Trinidad & Tobago extended their undefeated streak, and the East Coast Academy (ECA) Lions bounced back from a prior loss to lock in their third win of the week.

    Lewis turned in the most impressive individual performance of the tournament to date, pouring in a tournament-high 41 points to power the Antigua Pitbulls to a lopsided 118-51 victory over Guyana’s D-Up Academy. The young guard was not just a scoring threat: he rounded out his stat line with four steals, four assists, and three rebounds, dominating both ends of the floor from opening tip to final buzzer. Teammate Gabriel De Souza provided valuable secondary scoring, adding 17 points to the winning effort.

    Even in the 67-point blowout defeat, D-Up Academy’s Kemal Pickering turned in a gritty, commendable performance, notching a double-double of 21 points and 17 rebounds. Teammate Aliandro Wickman joined Pickering in double-digit production, finishing the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds of his own.

    In the first matchup of the day, the three-time defending champion NCA Warriors cemented their status as overwhelming title favorites, extending their perfect win record at the top of the tournament standings with a 123-29 rout of Basketball For The Future (BFTF) Pitbulls. The defending champions locked in their signature suffocating transition defense from the opening minute, forcing constant turnovers that translated into easy scoring opportunities on the other end of the floor. Zayden Charles led the charge for the Warriors with 19 points and seven steals, while playmaker Nhyim Pierre anchored the team’s offensive flow with 14 points and seven assists. For the outmatched BFTF Pitbulls, Hushan Simon led all scorers with eight points and added four rebounds.

    The final game of the day featured an intrasquad local derby between the ECA Lions and ECA Tigers, where the Lions bounced back in dominant fashion from a narrow one-point defeat on Day 3 of the tournament. The Lions brushed aside their lower-ranked intrasquad opponents 113-26, led by Nyel Joseph’s all-around performance of 26 points, nine steals, and six rebounds. Forward Jabari Archibald notched a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, and added four blocks to anchor the Lions’ defense. For the winless Tigers, Daelan Magloire led the team with eight points and seven rebounds, while David Chandler chipped in six points and seven boards.

    With the preliminary round set to conclude on Friday, the tournament standings have taken a clear shape. The undefeated NCA Warriors (4-0, 8 points) sit comfortably atop the rankings, boasting an eye-popping plus-308 point differential that reflects their dominant run through group play. The ECA Lions and Antigua Pitbulls enter the final matchday tied for second place with matching 3-1 records and 7 points, with the Lions holding the advantage on point differential. D-Up Academy and the BFTF Pitbulls are tied at 1-3 with 5 points each, occupying fourth and fifth place respectively, while the ECA Tigers remain winless at 0-4 with 4 points heading into their final preliminary round matchup.

  • Belize Turns to IDB for $8 Million to Rein In Public Sector Costs

    Belize Turns to IDB for $8 Million to Rein In Public Sector Costs

    Belize is moving forward with a major public sector reform initiative, requesting its National Assembly to greenlight an $8 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to overhaul the country’s civil service management systems and rein in growing public expenditure.

    The IDB’s Board of Directors already gave formal approval to the financing package back on June 26, earmarked for the Support to Civil Service Modernisation Project, an initiative designed to boost efficiency in the central government’s wage bill and enhance strategic oversight of public sector employment. With public sector wage costs representing a significant portion of Belize’s annual government spending, the reform effort targets longstanding inefficiencies that have strained the country’s fiscal balance.

    The project will channel investment into three core priority areas. First, it will strengthen systems for expenditure control and long-term workforce planning, helping policymakers align civil service staffing levels with actual public service needs. Second, it will drive digital transformation and expand the use of data analytics in public sector human resources management, replacing outdated manual processes with data-driven decision-making tools. Third, it will invest in institutional capacity building to embed modern HR management practices across all central government departments.

    Overall, the full project is projected to cost $9 million total. The IDB is covering the vast majority of the expense with its $8 million commitment, while the Government of Belize will contribute the remaining $1 million in local counterpart resources. The Ministry of Public Service and Disaster Risk Management has been tapped as the lead executing agency responsible for rolling out all project activities and meeting key implementation milestones.

    The loan agreement comes with favorable long-term terms tailored to Belize’s fiscal capacity. The country will have a five-year window from the contract’s effective date to access and draw down the full loan amount. Repayment will stretch over 25 years, including a 66-month grace period that delays the start of principal repayments to give the project time to deliver cost-saving results. Once principal repayments begin, Belize will make 39 semi-annual installments of approximately $205,128.21 each. Interest is calculated based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) applied to the outstanding balance, and a maximum annual credit fee of 0.75% is charged on any portion of the loan that has not yet been disbursed.

  • Belize’s Constitution Review Moves Forward

    Belize’s Constitution Review Moves Forward

    Four years after its formal establishment to spearhead a national conversation on constitutional overhaul, Belize’s People’s Constitution Commission (PCC) has delivered its landmark final report to the country’s National Assembly, marking a critical milestone in the nation’s long-awaited constitutional reform process.

    Prime Minister John Briceño confirmed details of the report’s evolution in official remarks following the tabling, noting that the document initially included 167 original policy and structural recommendations. These proposals were first streamlined to 53 full constitutional amendments after a rigorous review by an independent external expert committee chaired by King’s Counsel Edward Fitzgerald — a mandatory step outlined in the PCC founding legislation that was required to be completed by May 2026. Following the expert committee’s assessment, the 53 remaining proposals were passed to Belize’s Attorney General’s Ministry for additional legal and procedural review.

    Briceño explained that the panel of constitutional experts evaluated each proposal against eight core criteria to ensure alignment with the nation’s long-term interests. Key benchmarks included alignment with modern governance standards, protection of fundamental human rights, long-term structural durability, democratic legitimacy, and the ability for courts to enforce amendments without overstepping into the role of elected policymakers.

    Under the framework established by the PCC Act, the final stage of the reform process will require a national referendum to approve any changes to Belize’s constitution. However, before any public vote is held, the country will enter an extended period of public engagement to ensure all Belizeans have the opportunity to understand and weigh in on the proposed changes.

    The prime minister outlined that the government will first roll out a nationwide public awareness campaign designed to educate citizens on the content and implications of the 53 proposed amendments, before the full package returns to the National Assembly for further procedural consideration. Briceño emphasized that not all recommendations will ultimately be adopted as part of the final reform package, noting that public input will play a central role in shaping the government’s final position.

    “This consultation process creates a formal mechanism for the public to review and analyze the PCC’s recommendations, as well as understand the government’s rationale for any adjustments it proposes,” Briceño said. “In turn, this process allows the government to gather critical feedback directly from the Belizean people that we will use to refine our approach.”

    Briceño projected the full public engagement and consultation period will take between six and eight months to complete, and he issued a formal call for all Belizean citizens to engage with the report and participate actively in the upcoming public discussions.

    “I encourage all Belizeans to take the time to assess and review the PCC report and its recommendations,” Briceño said. “As the government rolls out its awareness campaign over the coming months, I urge you to participate in a sober and responsible manner to help shape the future of our nation’s governing framework.”

  • 91 years on, Caribbean Union of Teachers says the fight continues

    91 years on, Caribbean Union of Teachers says the fight continues

    Ninety-one years after a collective of regional educators joined forces to amplify their shared professional voice, the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) is celebrating more than nine decades of relentless advocacy for teaching professionals across the Caribbean, while continuing to push forward on its unaddressed priorities.

    Founded on August 21, 1935, under its original name the West Indies Teachers Association, the organization’s 91st anniversary offers a pivotal moment to honor the sacrifices of early leaders who laid the groundwork for better working conditions for Caribbean educators, according to current CUT President Sharon Kelsick.

    Kelsick emphasized that the modern gains educators benefit from did not come without significant hardship for the trailblazers who came before. “For us at CUT, we do not take the 91 years lightly, because we know we stand on the shoulders of educators and union leaders who have fought, who have gone hungry, educators who have been arrested, and who have experienced the hardships that we are able to enjoy the fruits of their labours,” she shared in an interview with St Lucia Times.

    Nine decades on, representing Caribbean teaching professionals brings a distinct set of modern challenges. Kelsick notes that today’s complex industrial relations landscape creates unprecedented headwinds for all labor organizations, including the CUT, making the union’s century-spanning longevity a meaningful milestone on its own. “The CUT continues to exist, and that in and of itself is a milestone, because the complex landscape of industrial relations right now is very challenging for every union, including the CUT,” she explained.

    Among the most notable progress the organization has achieved over the past year is a new collaborative partnership with the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies, a relationship designed to expand specialized training opportunities for union leadership and support targeted research to strengthen the CUT’s advocacy work.

    “With this partnership, we were able to bring trade union courses. Our executives can be trained; we will do research with the college that will help us to better advocate for our people,” Kelsick said of the agreement. This focus on cross-organizational collaboration sits at the center of Kelsick’s broader strategic vision for the CUT. She has pushed for deeper, more productive relationships with national education ministries, local member unions, and other stakeholder groups, arguing that isolated advocacy cannot deliver meaningful change. “We cannot exist within a vacuum,” she noted. “We have to cooperate, we have to work together in order to push education, not just for our individual member units, but for us as a Caribbean society.”

    Even as the union celebrates the progress it has made over 91 years, many of the core issues that drove its founding remain urgent priorities for today’s leadership. Kelsick reaffirmed that the fight for equitable working conditions, professional respect, workplace dignity, and competitive compensation for educators is ongoing, and the CUT will never cease its advocacy on these fronts.

    As the CUT enters its 92nd year of operation, Kelsick’s message echoes the unifying principle that brought the region’s educators together more than nine decades ago: collective action creates lasting power. “We are the CUT. We are committed. We stand united. And our impact is transgenerational. Long live the CUT!”