As the global community prepares to mark Africa-CARICOM Day 2026 on September 7, the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Committee (ABRSC) is joining communities across Antigua and Barbuda, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the African Union (AU), and the African diaspora in celebration and collective reflection on the ties that bind these two regions together.
The annual commemoration traces its roots back to the groundbreaking first Africa-CARICOM Summit held on September 7, 2021. During that landmark gathering, Gaston Browne — who served as both Chair of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda at the time — put forward the proposal to establish September 7 as a yearly shared observance. In his keynote address, Browne urged for deepened collaborative ties across multiple critical sectors, from cross-border trade and foreign direct investment to maritime transportation, multilateral diplomacy, and broad-based sustainable development. He also underscored the significant collective global negotiating power that Africa and CARICOM nations can unlock when they align around shared goals and present a unified front in international forums.
For ABRSC, this annual day is far more than a symbolic gesture: it serves as a powerful public affirmation of the deep shared ancestral roots, interconnected cultural identities, and aligned collective ambitions that connect the people of Africa and the Caribbean. The observance also creates a critical annual moment to reaffirm shared commitments to building a more intentional, strategic partnership between two regions richly endowed with vast human, cultural, and natural resources. Together, their combined collective strengths span a wide array of high-growth and foundational sectors, including commercial agriculture, renewable and traditional energy, critical mineral extraction, sustainable blue economy development, international tourism, digital technology, creative and cultural industries, formal education, international financial services, plus a large, young, and increasingly digitally connected population that forms the backbone of future growth.
ABRSC stresses that the most valuable shared asset between the two regions is their people and their combined collective ability to shape their own sovereign futures. In its statement marking the 2026 commemoration, the committee emphasizes that the project of Africa-CARICOM unity is inextricably linked to the ongoing global movement for reparatory justice for harms inflicted during the transatlantic slave trade and colonial era. That said, the organization makes clear that this shared vision cannot remain a purely aspirational goal — it must be translated into measurable, time-bound action that delivers tangible, meaningful outcomes for communities across both regions.
To turn vision into impact, ABRSC is issuing a broad call to action to national governments, regional governing bodies, civil society organizations, and individual citizens across Africa and the Caribbean. The committee urges all stakeholders to deepen existing collaborative partnerships, ramp up advocacy and on-the-ground action to advance reparatory justice, and work to transform the ancestral bonds that connect the two regions into durable ties of cross-border cooperation, expanded economic opportunity, cultural revitalization, and shared collective progress.
“Happy Africa-CARICOM Day 2026!” the statement concludes. “One People. Shared History. Common Purpose. A United Future.”