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  • Grenada champions small island priorities at 8th GEF Assembly

    Grenada champions small island priorities at 8th GEF Assembly

    From May 30 to June 6, 2026, the historic city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan played host to the 8th Assembly and Associated Meetings of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), drawing official delegations from all 186 of the institution’s member nations. Among the participating countries was the Caribbean small island nation of Grenada, which used the high-profile global gathering to center the unique needs and priorities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as the GEF opens its ninth four-year funding cycle.

    As the GEF’s top decision-making and governing body, the Assembly only convenes once every four years. This year’s meeting marked the official launch of the GEF-9 funding cycle, which will run from 2026 through 2030, and established the framework for the body’s new integrated Nature–Climate–Pollution agenda that will shape all global environmental financing activities for the next four years.

    Grenada’s three-person delegation to the Assembly included High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Rachér Croney, GEF Operational Focal Point Nicole Clarke-Gurley, and alternate Operational Focal Point Isabel Morris. Over the course of the week-long meetings, the delegation carried out a broad range of diplomatic and policy engagement: it delivered Grenada’s official national statement to the plenary, took part in high-level panel discussions including a focused session on the function of National Steering Committees, and joined delegations from Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago for the official side event titled “Leaving No Country Behind”. On the sidelines of the main Assembly sessions, the delegation also held working meetings with representatives from the GEF Independent Evaluation Office and the body’s partner implementing agencies.

    A core focus of Grenada’s engagement throughout the Assembly was elevating the longstanding priority issues of SIDS, which are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation despite contributing minimally to global emissions. The delegation pushed for major reforms to make global environmental finance more accessible, calling for simpler application processes and faster disbursement of funds to meet SIDS’ urgent needs. It also advocated for stronger global recognition of SIDS as equal co-designers of environmental projects, rather than passive recipients of funding, and called for consistent, long-term investment in building local institutional and operational capacity to sustain environmental outcomes.

    The Grenadian delegation welcomed the GEF-9 cycle’s commitment to a Whole-of-Society Approach, which includes expanding direct access to financing for Indigenous Peoples, local community groups, women-led organizations, and youth initiatives. It also reaffirmed Grenada’s full commitment to meeting the 30 x 30 biodiversity target laid out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which commits signatory nations to protecting 30 percent of global land and water areas by 2030.

    “Grenada came to Samarkand to ensure our voice is heard at the table upstream, where global priorities are set and funding decisions are shaped,” Clarke-Gurley said in remarks following the delegation’s participation. “Our focus for GEF-9 is delivering innovation and high, practical impact that the ordinary Grenadian can actually feel in their daily lives, backed by robust local capacity to sustain results long after a project wraps up.”

    Back home, Grenada has already taken concrete steps to translate the outcomes of the Samarkand Assembly into national action. The government has established a dedicated National Steering Committee to oversee GEF-9 project identification and build a more balanced national environmental project portfolio. By early July, the committee will issue a public call for project proposals to relevant government ministries, covering priority areas including climate change adaptation and mitigation, ocean conservation and the blue economy, water resource management, and waste reduction. All submitted proposals will be required to align with Grenada’s National Sustainable Development Plan 2035 and the country’s medium-term national action plan.

    Once the country’s STAR allocation — the GEF’s system for allocating funding to member states — is formally confirmed in July, Grenada will deepen its collaboration with implementing agencies, prioritizing projects that incorporate innovation, digitalization, on-the-ground capacity building, and stronger national oversight of project delivery. These coordinated planning steps reflect Grenada’s clear commitment to turning the global commitments agreed in Samarkand into tangible, long-lasting benefits for all Grenadian citizens, according to the Office of the Prime Minister.

  • COMMENTARY: Pan in Harmony deserves a standing ovation – Kudos to Jacqui Andre and team

    COMMENTARY: Pan in Harmony deserves a standing ovation – Kudos to Jacqui Andre and team

    On the evening of Saturday, June 6, 2026, St. Gerard’s Hall played host to one of the most memorable steel pan performances in recent Dominica history, as three young ensembles took the stage for the annual “Icons on Steel” charity concert held to raise funds for the Dominica Cancer Society. The audience, made up largely of older residents alongside a smaller group of young attendees, was treated to an evening of varied, high-energy musicianship from the Convent High School Steel Pan Group, and both the junior and senior rosters of Pan in Harmony.

    The thoughtfully structured performance was split into two acts and four segments, bookended by the senior Pan in Harmony band. The Convent High School group closed the first half of the show, while the junior Pan in Harmony ensemble opened the second half after a short intermission. The evening kicked off with an opening presentation from students of Convent Prep, and drew a distinguished guest in Her Excellency President Sylvanie Burton, who attended alongside her husband. After formal opening proceedings including the playing of the national anthem, an opening prayer, and remarks from Pan in Harmony manager Jacqueline Andre, master of ceremonies Charlan Commodore guided the evening’s flow without a single hitch.

    The senior and junior Pan in Harmony bands rolled out a diverse repertoire that opened with the beloved hymn *How Great Thou Art*, before moving through iconic popular tracks including Bob Marley’s *Redemption Song*, John Legend’s *All of Me*, Elvis Presley’s *Can’t Help Falling in Love*, and hits from Bill Withers, Nasio Fontaine, and Jimmy Cliff. The show was originally scheduled to close with a medley of works from Lord Kitchener, but enthusiastic audience calls for an encore of Mighty Gabby’s *Doctor Cassandra* – which had already had the crowd tapping along in their seats – led the performers to bring the track back for a second round.

    While all three performing groups delivered stunning sets, the night was stolen by the all-female Convent High School Steel Pan Group, whose outstanding performance was made even more remarkable by the fact that this was their first public appearance, and the ensemble had only been together for seven months. The students flawlessly performed complex works including Johann Strauss II’s *The Blue Danube Waltz*, Paul Simon’s *The Sound of Silence*, and Hoagy Carmichael’s *Heart and Soul*, with a level of professionalism that more than earned a standing ovation – a honor every ensemble on the night deserved. Though most of the audience remained seated to show their appreciation, the reviewer joined front-row attendee Athie Martin in dancing along to the closing encore, capping off what will go down as one of the finest steel pan events the island nation has seen in recent years.

    That said, the extraordinary success of the grassroots event also laid bare long-running challenges facing the performing arts sector in Dominica, long-time cultural sector advocate Severin McKenzie – an architect and chair of the Alwin Bully Foundation Inc. with more than five decades of arts involvement – notes in his review. Notably absent from the audience were elected politicians from all parties, state cultural agencies, and almost all major local media outlets, with only Dominica News Online in attendance. Many other key stakeholders who hold influence over the growth and development of the performing arts were also missing from the crowd.

    Despite St. Gerard’s Hall management offering the venue for the event at no cost, the facility’s conditions are far worse than they were in the 1970s, when the People’s Action Theatre staged regular productions there. It is unacceptable, McKenzie argues, that young local performers in 2026 are forced to work in substandard conditions, while the Arawak House of Culture remains shuttered and underdeveloped after suffering damage during Hurricane Maria.

    McKenzie says the Dominica Festival Commission (DFC) and Discover Dominica Authority cannot ignore the quality of work put on display at *Icons on Steel*, and is calling for Pan in Harmony to be granted a prime-time performance slot at the 2026 World Creole Music Festival, rather than being sidelined to a low-profile fringe event. The DFC holds a responsibility not just to book global stars for the annual festival, but to nurture and elevate emerging local talent, McKenzie notes. Thirty minutes of the high-quality steel pan performance showcased on June 6 would be a electrifying addition to any WCMF lineup, he argues, giving audiences a memorable local interlude between international headliners.

    The standout performance from the Convent High School Steel Pan Group also offers a clear blueprint for education authorities looking to introduce steel pan education into national school curriculums, McKenzie adds. His observation that most local media declined to cover the event points to a broader trend in Dominica: performing arts events rarely receive public attention unless they center an expensive international artist that gets extensive promotional backing. While non-Bouyon genres including steel pan, poetry, and theater have long been sidelined with little public or institutional support, the extraordinary talent on display at *Icons on Steel* offers a spark of hope for the future of local cultural expression. For that reason, McKenzie says, Jacqueline Andre and the entire Pan in Harmony team deserve widespread public recognition and ongoing support for their outstanding work nurturing the next generation of Dominican musicians.

  • Minister Kiz Johnson Calls for Greater Respect and Inclusion of Seniors During Centenarians Week

    Minister Kiz Johnson Calls for Greater Respect and Inclusion of Seniors During Centenarians Week

    As Antigua and Barbuda prepares to observe its annual Centenarians Week in 2026, the country’s top official for social and urban policy has issued a heartfelt call for all residents to lift up and celebrate the nation’s centenarians, framing these 100-year-old citizens as irreplaceable national treasures defined by wisdom, hard-won resilience and decades of lived experience.

    In her official address marking the launch of Centenarians Week 2026, Minister of Social and Urban Transformation Kiz Johnson emphasized that the annual observance serves a dual purpose: beyond celebrating the remarkable milestone of living a century, it also offers a moment to recognize the vast network of people that support centenarians across the country. This includes family members, full-time and informal caregivers, frontline healthcare workers, and local community organizations that dedicate time and resources to older citizens, Johnson noted.

    Johnson pointed to the outsized, often uncelebrated contributions centenarians have made to the growth and development of Antigua and Barbuda’s local communities and the nation as a whole. From building local economies through decades of work to raising the next generation of leaders and prioritizing collective community well-being, these elders made intentional sacrifices that laid the foundational framework modern Antigua and Barbuda is built on, Johnson explained. “Through their work, sacrifice, family, leadership, and commitment to community life, they have helped lay the foundation upon which subsequent generations continue to build,” she said in her address.

    The minister went on to reaffirm her ministry’s ongoing commitment to building neighborhoods and communities across the country that are inclusive, physically accessible, and actively supportive of all older residents. Too often, older citizens are pushed to the margins of public life, Johnson said, reinforcing the need for ongoing work to create spaces where older people can stay connected to their communities, remain socially engaged, and feel the respect and appreciation they deserve as core members of Antiguan and Barbudan society. “We must continue to foster environments where seniors remain connected, engaged, respected, and valued members of our society,” she stated.

    A key priority highlighted in Johnson’s message is expanding opportunities for intergenerational connection between young people and the nation’s centenarians. Young people growing up in a time of rapid social, economic and technological change stand to gain invaluable perspective from those who have navigated 100 years of global and local transformation, Johnson explained. She added that the cumulative wisdom of the country’s oldest citizens remains one of Antigua and Barbuda’s most underrecognized, yet most valuable, national resources.

    Closing her address, Johnson extended formal congratulations to all centenarians across Antigua and Barbuda, as well as their loved ones, and offered her wishes for a warm, joyful, and meaningful 2026 Centenarians Week celebration.

  • GIZ, Camper & Nicholsons and TAMCC collaborate

    GIZ, Camper & Nicholsons and TAMCC collaborate

    On May 29, 2026, hundreds of learners across Grenada’s education spectrum – from primary and secondary school pupils to T.A. Marryshow Community College (TAMCC) students – gathered at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina for the inaugural *Explore the Blue – Marine Pathways Event*, an innovative outreach effort designed to open young people’s eyes to the potential of the island nation’s fast-expanding blue economy. The collaborative event was coordinated by Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, the Grenada Tourism Authority and the Grenada Yacht Club, with core funding and support from the Green & Blue Skills Project, an initiative run by Germany’s Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and delivered in partnership with the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

    One of the event’s most anticipated highlights was a series of guided glass-bottom boat tours that gave students a rare firsthand look at the vibrant underwater ecosystems that underpin Grenada’s marine industries. Accompanied by professional marine biologists, groups traveled to Pandy Beach to learn about the ecological roles of seagrass beds and coral reefs, as well as the urgent need for marine conservation. After the ocean excursion, participants moved to the Grenada Yacht Club, where they interacted directly with marine sector business representatives to explore the wide range of professional roles available in the local blue economy.

    Zara Tremlett, General Manager of Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina, praised the overwhelming energy and curiosity students brought to the day. “We ran two rotating glass-bottom boat tours made possible through GIZ’s Green & Blue Skills support,” Tremlett explained. “This wasn’t just a field trip – it was a chance for young people to connect what they learn in the classroom to the living, working ocean that drives so much of Grenada’s economy.”

    The Green & Blue Skills Project, which operates across four Caribbean small island developing states, works to reform national and regional Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems to better equip young people – especially women and marginalized vulnerable groups – to access jobs and launch enterprises in green and blue economy sectors. In Grenada, the initiative prioritizes the entire maritime industry, covering everything from luxury yachting and marine tourism to traditional boatbuilding, fisheries, ferry transport, and vessel repair and maintenance.

    Sabine Klaus, head of the Green & Blue Skills Project, emphasized that bridging the gap between education institutions and industry is critical to meeting current and future workforce demands in Grenada. “Grenada’s blue economy holds enormous potential for inclusive, sustainable economic growth, but right now, there are far too few structured training programs and clear career pathways for young people interested in marine careers,” Klaus noted. “As a result, many local marine businesses are forced to bring in specialized experts from overseas to fill critical roles, from equipment repair to operations management, which holds back the sector’s growth.”

    Klaus added that the project will continue its work with TAMCC and local industry partners such as Port Louis Marina to expand accessible marine training programs, update curricula and qualification standards, and develop structured apprenticeship and direct employment pathways aligned with the evolving needs of Grenada’s growing blue economy.

    Akimo Murray, TAMCC’s Acting Corporate Communications Officer, framed the event as a transformative step for marine education in Grenada. “For students, getting to see and experience first-hand the concepts their lecturers discuss in the classroom is invaluable,” Murray said. “This kind of real-world engagement benefits learners, our institution, and Grenada as a whole by building a pipeline of local talent for the marine sector.”

    The Grenada National Training Agency (GNTA), which also partnered on the event, leveraged the accompanying Open House and Exhibition to connect directly with learners across all education levels, from primary school through tertiary education. GNTA Marketing and Communications Officer Kay Julien-Gutu called the event a resounding success, noting that it created a critical public space for career exploration and educational outreach. “Our team got to interact directly with the next generation of marine professionals, showcase what TVET has to offer, and share targeted guidance on careers in marine industries and yachting,” Julien-Gutu explained. “Initiatives like this help us deliver on our core mission: building strong links between education providers and industry, so Grenada’s young people are prepared to pursue sustainable, rewarding careers that benefit both themselves and their country.”

    Buoyed by overwhelmingly positive feedback from participating students, educators, and industry partners, stakeholders are now discussing the possibility of making the Explore the Blue event a regular fixture, held either annually or biannually to reach new groups of young Grenadians each year.

    As a long-standing global leader in international development cooperation with more than 50 years of experience, GIZ works with partners in roughly 120 countries worldwide to deliver practical, locally led solutions that improve livelihoods, expand economic opportunity, and advance environmental sustainability. Beyond Grenada, the Green & Blue Skills Project also operates in Dominica, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, addressing skills gaps across green sectors including renewable energy and climate-resilient agriculture, as well as blue economy sectors such as sustainable tourism and marine conservation. In Grenada, widespread industry reports confirm persistent shortages of qualified workers across key maritime roles, including marine technicians, marina operations staff, marine hospitality personnel, and certified seafarers – a gap the project and its local partners are working steadily to close.

  • Penny: John-Bates could return to the Senate

    Penny: John-Bates could return to the Senate

    On Saturday, at the People’s National Movement (PNM) National Women’s League Membership Meeting and Afternoon Tea held at the Fyzabad Regional Community Complex, Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles delivered a key address pushing back against narratives that the political career of former PNM senator Janelle John-Bates has ended following her exit from the Senate. Beckles emphasized that John-Bates’ current absence from the Upper House does not close the door on a future return to the legislative body, drawing on her own political history to reinforce her argument.

    Beckles reminded attendees that she herself was removed from the Senate on two separate occasions — first in 1998, and again in 2013 — yet she now holds the position of Political Leader of the PNM. This personal trajectory, she argued, demonstrates that temporary exits from parliamentary positions do not mark the end of a political career.

    The Opposition Leader also criticized the double standard she says is applied to PNM members versus their political rivals from the United National Congress (UNC). She argued that while PNM members are held to an unusually high bar, the UNC tolerates and retains members facing corruption allegations, individuals out on bail, and those who have been subject to public commissions of inquiry, without similar consequences. “Everybody could make mistakes,” Beckles noted, adding that PNM politicians are held to “a different standard” than their opponents.

    The shakeup in the Opposition Senate bench began in April, when controversy emerged over John-Bates’ actions during a Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) inquiry into public health service pharmaceutical procurement. It was revealed that John-Bates had assisted former PNM Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh in editing a statement prepared for submission to the investigative committee. PNM Senator Faris Al-Rawi, who served as Deyalsingh’s attorney, also participated in drafting the statement.

    Government Senator David Nakhid referred both John-Bates and Al-Rawi to Parliament’s Privileges Committee for potential disciplinary action over the incident. However, no investigation was ever completed, as the matter expired when the First Session of the 13th Republican Parliament concluded on May 22. John-Bates was already removed from her positions on the PAAC and the Joint Select Committee on National Security following the controversy, and she formally resigned from the Senate on May 1. For weeks after her resignation, Beckles declined to publicly confirm whether John-Bates would be replaced, a decision that drew sharp criticism from the ruling government and prompted concern from independent political analysts over the unexplained delay. Last Friday, as the Senate convened, John-Bates was officially replaced on the Opposition bench by attorney Dr. Margaret Satya Rose.

  • Tour operators call for reopening of Bush Bush Sanctuary

    Tour operators call for reopening of Bush Bush Sanctuary

    For months, a key protected eco-tourism destination in Trinidad and Tobago has remained shuttered, and the nation’s leading inbound tour operator collective is pushing authorities to reverse the closure, calling the current public health measure disproportionate and damaging to local livelihoods.

    The Trinidad and Tobago Incoming Tour Operators Association (TTITOA) is demanding a targeted, evidence-based rewrite of the current policy governing access to the Bush Bush Sanctuary, a protected natural area located within the Nariva Swamp. The site was sealed off to all visitors and entry permits suspended in March 2026, after local health authorities confirmed yellow fever viral traces in a deceased howler monkey found within the sanctuary’s boundaries.

    In an official statement released this week, TTITOA Vice President Stephen Broadbridge highlighted that the prolonged full closure has already caused immediate, measurable harm to local eco-tourism businesses and community members who rely on visitor activity for stable income. Unlike many casual tourist destinations, guided tours of Bush Bush Sanctuary have operated as a core community-led sustainable tourism offering for more than 30 years, providing a consistent livelihood for hundreds of people living in surrounding settlements.

    Broadbridge added that past yellow fever scares in the region do not support a full, long-term closure. More than a decade ago, a similar event unfolded when dead howler monkeys linked to yellow fever were discovered in the sanctuary. At that time, officials allowed tours to continue, the outbreak faded on its own, and no cases of human infection were ever recorded, he noted.

    TTITOA argues that the current blanket suspension of access fails to stand up to scrutiny on both public health and economic grounds. The association points out that yellow fever risks cannot be contained to the Bush Bush Sanctuary alone: both howler monkey populations (the species in which the virus was detected) and mosquito vectors that can spread yellow fever are distributed across multiple regions of Trinidad. If risk exists nationwide, closing just one site does little to improve overall public health safety, the group says, creating an issue of policy consistency that stakeholders have repeatedly questioned.

    Further, the association notes that eco-tourists who travel to Trinidad and Tobago specifically to visit sites like Bush Bush Sanctuary are typically well-informed about regional health risks, and the vast majority obtain required yellow fever vaccinations before arriving, which drastically reduces the chance of viral transmission.

    Instead of a full site closure, TTITOA has put forward a series of alternative policy recommendations that balance public health protection with the economic survival of the local tourism sector. The group is calling for strengthened public health advisories that mandate or strongly encourage vaccination for all visitors entering the sanctuary, clear, transparent risk communication strategies for tour operators and guests, and the resumption and expansion of the government’s game warden program. The warden program would allow the state to consistently monitor the sanctuary’s ecosystem, track yellow fever activity in local animal populations, and protect the ecologically sensitive site from unsustainable activity.

    The tourism sector in Trinidad and Tobago has already faced prolonged economic strain in recent years, and TTITOA emphasizes that overly restrictive, unbalanced measures threaten the long-term viability of a sector that supports thousands of livelihoods across the country. The association is urging public health and tourism authorities to open direct dialogue with industry stakeholders to craft response measures that are both effective at protecting public health and considerate of the sector’s economic needs.

    As of press time, repeated attempts by local media to reach Tourism Minister Satyakama Maharaj and Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Minister Ravi Ratiram for comment on TTITOA’s demands have not been successful.

  • Police investigate body found in Marchand River

    Police investigate body found in Marchand River

    Local law enforcement officials have opened a probe following the recovery of a 67-year-old local resident’s body from the Marchand River earlier this month.

    The incident unfolded on the afternoon of Friday, June 5, 2026, when personnel from the Marchand Police Station received an emergency alert just after 5:20 p.m. alerting them to the presence of an unidentified body in the waterway. Officers were dispatched to the site immediately, and upon arrival, they located Andrew Yarde, a 67-year-old resident of Bishop’s Gap, Marchand, floating face down in the river with no signs of responsiveness.

    Initial examinations of the body found no visible evidence of foul play or traumatic injury. A medical professional attended the scene and formally pronounced Yarde dead at the location shortly after first responders arrived.

    As of the latest update, the investigating team has not yet released details about how Yarde came to be in the river or the exact cause of his death, with inquiries into the circumstances of the incident still ongoing.

  • Minister Kiz Johnson Calls for Regional Action on Women’s Economic Empowerment

    Minister Kiz Johnson Calls for Regional Action on Women’s Economic Empowerment

    Against a backdrop of ongoing efforts to advance inclusive sustainable development across the Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister Kiz Johnson has issued a clear call to regional leaders: deepen cross-border cooperation to unlock women’s economic empowerment, framing universal financial inclusion as a non-negotiable foundation for long-term regional progress.

    Johnson shared this stance during a high-stakes ministerial dialogue focused on Caribbean development priorities, emphasizing that closing gender gaps in economic opportunity cannot be shouldered by a handful of nations. It is, she argued, a collective responsibility that every country in the region must uphold.

    “Antigua and Barbuda firmly holds that one of the most critical pillars of sustainable Caribbean development is expanding financial inclusion and driving the economic empowerment of women,” Johnson stated during the dialogue. “We also believe this is not the obligation of a single state or a small group of states. It is a shared responsibility that belongs to all of us.”

    Johnson went on to address a key structural imbalance across the region’s most vital economic sector. While tourism continues to serve as the primary engine of economic growth for nearly all Caribbean nations, including Antigua and Barbuda, women remain overwhelmingly concentrated in low-wage, low-ranking roles within the industry — even in contexts where formal barriers to women’s labor force participation have been eliminated.

    “In Antigua and Barbuda, just like in many of our neighboring states, tourism drives our national economy,” Johnson explained. “Even as we can point to having few to no formal barriers keeping women from joining the workforce, we have clearly observed that women are overrepresented in lower-paid, lower-hierarchy positions across that key industry.”

    At the national level, Johnson confirmed that the Antigua and Barbuda government has elevated women’s economic advancement to a top policy priority, with targeted investment and policy focus on two key areas: supporting women-led entrepreneurship, and expanding equitable access to financing for women business owners and workers. She noted that these two levers are central to closing the existing gender gap in economic opportunity across the country.

    “Our government takes this challenge extremely seriously, so we have made women’s economic advancement a core priority, with a focused strategy on growing entrepreneurship and improving access to financing — that is the key to meaningful change,” Johnson added.

  • 150 Students to Be Honoured at 40th Annual National CSEC Awards Ceremony

    150 Students to Be Honoured at 40th Annual National CSEC Awards Ceremony

    A milestone celebration of academic excellence is set to take place in Antigua and Barbuda this June, as the nation’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology joins forces with ACB Caribbean to recognize 150 high-achieving students at the 40th Annual National CSEC Awards Ceremony. Scheduled for Thursday, June 11 at 4:30 p.m., the annual gathering will be hosted at the SJPC House of Restoration Ministries, located on Lauchland Benjamin Drive.

    This year’s event marks four decades of the awards program, an initiative established to shine a spotlight on the top-performing students from Antigua and Barbuda who have sat for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. Beyond honoring national standouts, the ceremony will also spotlight students who earned a spot among the top 10 rankings across the entire Caribbean region in multiple individual subject areas.

    Aligned with this year’s official theme, “Architects of Tomorrow: Honouring Minds, Building Our Future,” the ceremony aims to do more than just hand out awards. According to statements from the Ministry of Education, the event seeks to highlight the core traits that have driven these young scholars’ success: exceptional intellectual ability, unwavering discipline, and relentless determination. It will also emphasize the critical role these young people will play in driving long-term development and progress across Antigua and Barbuda in the coming years.

    For community members who are unable to attend the ceremony in person, multiple viewing and listening options will be available. The entire event will be broadcast live via ABS Television, and will also be accessible through online streaming channels run by the Ministry of Education’s Education Broadcasting Unit and corporate partner ACB Caribbean, allowing supporters across the country and region to join in the celebration.

  • New probation officers offer hope to ‘stretched’ service

    New probation officers offer hope to ‘stretched’ service

    The Barbados Probation Service is entering a new phase of operational improvement, buoyed by the addition of seven new probation officers that have lifted total staffing to 16, according to Chief Probation Officer Dr. Angela Dixon. The long-awaited expansion is expected to ease crippling backlogs that have plagued the department, particularly around the preparation of critical pre-sentencing reports that have experienced costly delays in recent months.

    In an exclusive interview with Barbados TODAY, Dr. Dixon noted that while the new hires are still in onboarding and their full impact will not be felt immediately, the additional headcount marks a turning point for the service that has been stretched thin by overlapping responsibilities and limited staff. “It is definitely going to help us reduce the existing backlog of work we have accumulated over time,” she confirmed.

    Beyond cutting wait times, the new staffing capacity paves the way for a fundamental restructuring of how the department operates. Historically, all probation officers have served as generalists, taking on every core task from writing court-mandated reports and running rehabilitation programming to supervising offenders under their care. This one-size-fits-all model left teams overstretched and prevented specialists from deep diving into high-priority work.

    With seven extra team members on board, the service can now transition to a specialized role structure. Dr. Dixon outlined the new framework: some officers will focus exclusively on preparing court reports and attending court proceedings, others will dedicate their full attention to offender supervision, and a third cohort will lead rehabilitation and intervention programming. This targeted model, she explained, will allow the department to better measure its public safety impact and address long-standing gaps in service delivery that have gone unaddressed due to limited capacity.

    Despite the progress from this recruitment round, Dr. Dixon emphasized that further expansion will likely be needed to meet the service’s full needs. While she estimates an ideal total workforce would fall between 20 and 25 officers, she declined to lock in a final number, noting that the department will first evaluate the impact of the seven new hires and collect operational data before formalizing future staffing requests.

    Alongside workforce expansion, the Probation Service is also advancing plans to deepen digital integration across Barbados’ criminal justice sector. The department currently uses Enterprise Supervision, a specialized case management platform developed by US-based firm Tyler Technologies, which it adopted shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. The platform is designed to streamline case tracking, information sharing and offender monitoring across agencies.

    When the system was launched, the Probation Service invited all relevant criminal justice stakeholders to test the platform and explore integration opportunities. Initial feedback was overwhelmingly positive, but momentum stalled due to shifting institutional priorities, funding gaps and delayed follow-up. Dr. Dixon’s long-term vision remains full cross-agency integration: if all stakeholders can connect to the platform or interface with it via complementary tools, teams can proactively flag shared clients and coordinate interventions far more effectively, reducing gaps in supervision and support.

    The digital transformation effort has also expanded regionally: the Barbados Probation Service has rolled out access to the Enterprise Supervision platform to probation agencies across 16 Caribbean nations. Regional partners are offered two access pathways: they can leverage the existing infrastructure already in place in Barbados and simply purchase user licenses to get started.

    Dr. Dixon reported that regional interest in the platform has been strong, with many agencies expressing enthusiasm for the standardized, digital case management solution. She noted, however, that widespread adoption across the Caribbean will depend on three key factors: sustained political will to prioritize probation system modernization, available funding for platform licensing and implementation, and buy-in from key national stakeholders to recognize probation as a core component of effective public safety and criminal justice strategy.