As the global order continues to shift rapidly, bringing overlapping challenges to small and medium-sized states across the Americas, a leading Guyanese research institution is preparing to bring together cross-border experts to unpack pressing regional and international concerns.
The Centre for International and Border Studies (CIBS), a Georgetown-headquartered think tank focused on cross-border and global policy issues, will host its flagship two-day conference on May 14 and 15 this year, held at the Herdmanston Lodge in the nation’s capital. Designed to accommodate a wide range of attendees regardless of geographic barriers, the gathering will operate as a hybrid event, welcoming both in-person guests and remote participants joining via digital platforms.
Organized under the overarching theme “Navigating The Future: Guyana, the Caribbean and Latin America in a Changing Global Environment”, the conference will create space for rigorous critical discussion of four core priority areas: deepening regional integration progress, advancing inclusive sustainable development across the hemisphere, unpacking the evolving geopolitical landscape of the Americas, and addressing other emergent pressing international issues shaping the region’s trajectory.
The lineup of presenters and panelists draws top expertise from across the Americas and beyond. Attendees will hear from U.S. academic Dr. Scott McDonald, former United Nations official Dr. Bertrand Ramcharan who also serves as Chancellor of the University of Guyana, and multiple lecturers from the University of the West Indies: Dr. Kai-Ann Skeete, Dr. Marlon Anatol, and Dr. Jacqueline LaGuardia Martinez. Two prominent Brazilian scholars, Paulo Correa of the Federal University of Amapa and Ambere Freitas of Brazil’s Roraima Federal Institute, will also contribute analysis, alongside a roster of seasoned regional experts including Carl Greenidge, Dr. Ulric Trotz, Dr. Clement Henry, Neville Bissember, and CIBS’ current director Dr. Mark Kirton.
Founded as a collaborative transnational network, CIBS counts a diverse global membership of academics, policy professionals, and practitioners hailing from across Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the United States, Asia, and Africa. The upcoming conference marks a key effort to bridge cross-regional expertise and generate actionable insight for navigating the uncertain global shifts facing the Western Hemisphere in the coming years.