Ahead of the 2026 International Day for Women in Diplomacy, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett welcomed a cohort of 12 young women to the organization’s headquarters in Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana on June 23 for a dedicated engagement session as part of the annual “Diplomat for a Day” initiative.
Hosted locally by Guyana’s The Imperial House, the program is designed to open doors for young Guyanese women to gain hands-on insight into diplomatic work by giving them the chance to shadow heads of diplomatic missions. This year’s iteration drew participants aged 17 to 30 from across the country, including students from local secondary schools, the University of Guyana, and early-career professionals from Guyana’s public sector agencies. The initiative received backing from multiple regional and international diplomatic bodies, including the High Commission of Belize, the High Commission of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Embassy of Suriname, the Embassy of Mexico, and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture.
During their afternoon meeting with Dr. Barnett and other senior CARICOM officials, the young participants held open conversations about the role of women in diplomatic careers. The senior leaders shared personal anecdotes and lessons from their own professional trajectories, giving the emerging leaders a raw, firsthand look at life in multilateral diplomacy. Beyond the leadership discussion, the group also took part in specialized informational sessions tailored to their interests. Michele Small-Bartley, CARICOM’s Programme Manager for Youth Development, walked the participants through regional youth-focused opportunities, most notably the CARICOM Young Professionals Programme, which creates pathways for early-career professionals to work within the community’s institutions. Later, Gladys Young, Director of the CARICOM Single Market, led an interactive session breaking down the structure and goals of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, helping the young diplomats understand the core economic integration work that anchors the community. The visit concluded with a guided educational tour of the CARICOM Secretariat campus to familiarize the group with the organization’s day-to-day operations.
The young honorary diplomats were accompanied on the visit by Her Excellency Gale Miller-Garnett, High Commissioner of Belize to Guyana, and Wasim Khan, Executive Director of The Imperial House, which organizes the program.
The International Day for Women in Diplomacy, marked annually on June 24, has a clear tie to Guyana’s own diplomatic leadership. The global observance was first established in 2022 during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, through a UN resolution co-sponsored by Guyana, creating a formal global recognition of women’s underrepresented contributions to international diplomacy and peacebuilding.