In its popular biweekly “Did You Know?” knowledge series, HaitiLibre has shared a fascinating deep dive into the cultural history of the Taíno people, spotlighting the sacred ritual ball game that shaped their social and spiritual life. This 54th installment of the series, released as part of the platform’s ongoing quiz series, explores little-known details about batey, the centuries-old traditional game with far deeper meaning than simple recreation. The batey game, played on a marked rectangular public plaza that shared the same name, was a core part of Taíno communal and religious life. The playing plaza itself was defined by large, flat standing stones, many of which are still decorated with ancient Taíno petroglyphs that survive to this day. Matches pitted two teams against one another, using a solid, bouncy ball crafted from natural vegetable rubber or tree resin. A defining rule of the game banned players from using their hands or feet to touch the ball; instead, participants had to keep the ball in play using only their hips, elbows, shoulders, and knees, which were often protected by thick belts carved from stone or wood. Far more than a casual leisure activity, batey served critical social and spiritual functions within Taíno communities. The game was frequently used to peacefully resolve disputes between rival chiefdoms, offering a nonviolent alternative to conflict. It was also a centerpiece of major religious festivals, held to honor Taíno deities, and often concluded with formal, solemn religious ceremonies that reinforced community bonds. This historical insight comes directly from the answer key for the platform’s dedicated Haiti Tainos Quiz 1.1, part of a growing collection of general knowledge quizzes hosted by HaitiLibre. As of its latest monthly update on August 1, 2026, the platform added 30 brand-new quizzes, bringing the total number of available interactive knowledge games to 210, with new content added every single month. All of the platform’s exclusive quizzes are completely free to access, require no user registration, and are designed to suit audiences of all ages and knowledge levels. Each quiz is offered in both French and English, with three distinct difficulty tiers: easy, intermediate, and hard, to accommodate casual learners and trivia experts alike. Visitors can explore hundreds of quizzes covering topics ranging from Haitian history and culture to global current events and general knowledge, with a dedicated expert menu for users seeking more challenging content. HaitiLibre encourages visitors to explore the full quiz collection at https://quiz.haitilibre.com/en, share the platform with friends and family, and submit feedback and suggestions via the comment form at the end of every quiz. The initiative emphasizes learning through exploration, encouraging users to stick with challenging questions rather than giving up, turning every wrong answer into an opportunity to discover new knowledge to share with others. The “Did You Know?” series has released 53 prior installments, all of which are archived and accessible via the HaitiLibre website for users interested in exploring more cultural and historical facts about Haiti and the wider world.
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Another Caribbean newspaper to cease publication after 31 years
After 31 years of continuous, award-winning coverage of politics, culture and community life in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the country’s long-running newspaper Searchlight will join a growing list of shuttered Caribbean news outlets when it ceases all operations next month. Parent company Interactive Media Limited announced this week that the title will run its final print edition on September 25, and will pause all digital operations pending a full review of the brand’s future, marking the end of an era for one of the Caribbean’s most recognizable local news institutions.
Searchlight’s impending closure is not an isolated event, but the latest symptom of a cascading crisis that has swept through the Caribbean’s independent media sector in 2025. Earlier this year, two of the region’s most historic print titles shut their doors permanently: after 32 years of publication, Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday wound down operations in January, and just two months later, Guyana’s 39-year-old independent stalwart Stabroek News ceased print and digital publication amid voluntary liquidation of its parent company. Even digital-native outlets have not escaped the pressure: in July 2025, regional digital news platform Loop News, which operated across 11 Caribbean markets for more than a decade, shut down after its parent company Digicel Group made the strategic decision to exit consumer-facing content and refocus on its core enterprise telecommunications business.
The leaders of the shuttered outlets have pointed to a consistent set of interconnected challenges that have made independent, professional news production unviable across the region. Grant Taylor, managing director of Newsday, described the industry’s struggles as a “perfect storm of challenges” that has pushed once-stable titles into unresolvable debt. For print titles in particular, the pressures have been acute: decades of declining circulation have been paired with a collapse in print advertising revenue, while rising costs for materials, distribution and labor have eaten further into already thin margins. Even outlets that have pivoted to digital operations have failed to offset these losses, as both audiences and advertising spending have shifted overwhelmingly to global social media and big tech platforms that siphon off revenue that once sustained local news organizations.
The loss of Loop News, which was built from the ground up as a regional digital operation, dealt a particularly sharp blow to hopes that an online-only model would solve the industry’s survival crisis. The platform’s closure proved that simply moving operations online is not enough to secure long-term sustainability for Caribbean news organizations, leaving industry leaders searching for new solutions to the sector’s deep structural problems.
Wesley Gibbings, vice president of the Media Institute of the Caribbean, warned earlier this year that the region is currently in a “watershed period” for independent journalism. As more advertising dollars flow to global tech giants rather than local news outlets, the survival of professional, local reporting that holds power to account and serves community information needs is increasingly uncertain. Searchlight’s shutdown has amplified these concerns, with media practitioners warning that the growing wave of closures risks eroding media diversity and leaving communities across the Caribbean without access to independent, trusted local news.
Unlike the other outlets that have permanently closed this year, Searchlight has left the door open to a potential future reboot. While the print edition will end for good on September 25, the title’s digital operations are only being paused, not permanently canceled, as Interactive Media Limited conducts a full review of the operation’s long-term strategic direction. For now, though, the end of Searchlight’s 31-year run marks another major blow to the Caribbean’s struggling independent media landscape.
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BGIS urged to build on CBU Media Awards success
Barbados has made history at the 37th annual Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) Media Awards held in Guyana, turning in a dominant performance that secured the island nation 15 total awards and eight special mentions — with the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS) leading the charge by claiming seven awards and one special honor. The landmark results marked a clear improvement from the BGIS’s 2023 showing, where the agency took home five awards and three special mentions, a progress highlighted by top government officials during a celebratory awards presentation this week.
At the Wednesday ceremony honoring winning teams from BGIS, the National Transformation Initiative (NTI), and Barbados Community College (BCC), Minister of Information Gregory Nicholls pushed the BGIS to build on its recent momentum, setting an ambitious target for future competitions. “This time we converted the special mentions into actual awards along with one special mention,” Nicholls noted. “So I expect by next year we will double in this because you’ve done a little bit of an improvement this year, so next year I’m expecting us to work together. Notice I said for us to leave the gap between you and the competition so far behind that they don’t worry about these awards in 2028.”
Nicholls emphasized that the cross-category wins — spanning digital content, public service announcements, television, radio, and cultural reporting — debunk any skepticism around the quality of state-run media, proving that public media institutions can not only meet but exceed the highest industry standards for creative excellence and factual accuracy. Beyond journalistic quality, the minister framed BGIS as a cornerstone of Barbados’s national identity, positioning the agency as a critical player in the country’s cultural defense against external misinformation and inauthentic storytelling.
“GIS has aided in bridging the gap between the state and citizens,” Nicholls said. “We all grew up hearing a lot of the programmes of GIS almost naturally on the radio and on television, seeing them a lifetime. I’ve been emphasising that the GIS like a number of other institutions in Barbados, the National Cultural Foundation, the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, are all important institutions in our cultural defence as a people. While other institutions overseas and abroad may offer skill and size and resources that are able to do things more efficiently, they’re not going to tell the authentic Barbadian story. They’re not going to be able to secure any legacy and what we as Barbadian people have achieved. They’re not going to be able to tell us objectively what is fact and what is fiction, what is news and information from disinformation and misinformation.”
CBU President Anthony Greene echoed Nicholls’ praise, noting that Barbados’s top-to-bottom victory is unprecedented in the modern history of the regional awards, and crediting both veteran media teams and first-time entrants for the island’s success. “This is not a statement to overlook,” Greene said. “This is testimony that government information services do good media work, that is to be applauded, that is to be recognised and acknowledged and of course, it, like I said, led the charge of Barbados for the first time in the modern era, the CBU Awards Barbados dominated the regional competition in a number of trophies and certificates won, and it was ably supported by first-time entrants as well.”
Greene specifically highlighted the performance of BCC, a first-time participant that earned recognition in the CBU’s brand-new student reporting category, noting that academic-media partnerships are key to sustaining a strong, independent media sector across Caribbean democracies. “[It] gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the work of the Barbados Community College because academia and media plays a critical part to the continuity of a sector that is critical to our democracies,” he added.
Stein Hansen, acting United Nations Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, also extended congratulations to all winning teams, noting that the range of recognized work reflects the consistently high quality of Barbadian media across beats. This year marked the launch of the UN’s new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Champion award, created to elevate Caribbean media coverage of pressing global and regional issues including climate action, gender equality, public health, and equitable economic opportunity.
“This speaks to the quality of the work being produced in newsrooms and studios across the island,” Hansen said. “I’m especially proud that for the first time, the United Nations presented the [SDG] Champion award. We launched this award to recognise the stories being told across the Caribbean media on climate action, gender equality, health, and economic opportunity- essential work in service of our shared future.”
A full breakdown of BGIS’s awards saw Paula Harper-Grant and Rommel Cumberbatch take home Best Public Service Advertisement – Digital for *Bees in Agriculture* and Best Public Service Advertisement – Television for *Christmas Praedial Larceny*, while Harper-Grant and Andre Olton won Best Public Service Advertisement – Radio for *Encouraging Good Hand Hygiene*. A team of eight journalists including Mikul Elcock, Aisha Reid, and Andre Olton claimed Financial Literacy Journalism – Television for *Money Matters: Navigating Your Financial Future*. Sheena Forde-Craigg and Tyson Henry won Excellence in Media Coverage of Caribbean Arts and Culture – Print for *Beyond Buns and Flying Fish*, and also earned a special mention for Best News Story – Print for *Tourism, Airlift, Accolades and Arrivals*. Elcock additionally won Best Director – Television, and Olton took home Best Sound Engineer – Radio.
Outside of BGIS, the NTI received a special mention in the SDG Champion category for its digital feature *Interview with STARR Bajan – Janelle Skinner*, and BCC student Victoria Boyce earned a special mention in the new Best Student Item – Digital category for her reporting project *Female Students Stepping Into Male Spaces*. The landmark wins have set a new bar for regional media competition, with leaders across government and the CBU already looking ahead to next year’s event.
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Pointe Ronde facility poised for top world athletics certification
The Caribbean island nation of Dominica is marking a major milestone in its sports development journey, as its new multi-purpose sporting complex under construction in Pointe Ronde, Portsmouth is positioned to earn the highest tier of certification from global governing body World Athletics.
The confirmation came from Michael Tovar, Track and Field Director for Mondo USA and the Caribbean, who shared the update after a recent on-site technical assessment of the ongoing project. Per Tovar’s analysis, the complex’s running track is on track to meet all requirements for World Athletics’ coveted Class One certification upon the completion of construction work.
This prestigious certification opens a new chapter for Dominica’s athletic sector: it will qualify the island to host top-tier international track and field competitions, a transformative shift from its previous hosting capacity for smaller regional events. There is one key limitation, however: the facility cannot accommodate Olympic Games due to its planned seating capacity falling short of the International Olympic Committee’s requirements.
Beyond hosting major international tournaments, the certification delivers long-lasting benefits for Dominica’s homegrown athletes. Any results clocked during officially sanctioned events held on the Class One track will automatically qualify for formal ratification by World Athletics, a critical step that allows local athletes to earn world rankings, qualify for global championships, and secure international competitive opportunities that were previously out of reach.
Tovar emphasized that the impact of the new complex stretches far beyond traditional track and field competitions. He noted that the facility is designed to serve as a regional athletic hub, hosting a wide range of activities including elite training camps, specialized skill development clinics, sports rehabilitation programs, and international coaching exchange initiatives. Complementing this, Dominica’s warm year-round tropical climate makes the Pointe Ronde location particularly appealing to overseas athletic teams seeking a mild winter training base to escape cold weather in their home countries.
According to the Government of Dominica, the multi-million-dollar development is being delivered in staggered phases to keep construction on schedule. The first phase currently underway focuses on completing the Class One synthetic running track and all core supporting infrastructure required for operations. Subsequent phases of the project will add an Olympic-sized swimming pool, purpose-built athlete accommodation, and dedicated administrative office facilities to expand the complex’s capabilities.
Fenella Wainham-Sheppard, Parliamentary Representative for the Portsmouth constituency where the complex is located, framed the project as a transformative investment for both the local community and the island’s broader sports economy. She highlighted that the upgraded infrastructure will not only strengthen Dominica’s national sports capacity but also create new economic opportunities by drawing international teams, clubs, and athletes to the island, while providing a platform to showcase Dominica’s stunning natural environment and consistent favorable climate to a global audience.
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SVG participate in sub region tennis tournament
A young eight-player tennis delegation from St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) recently made history on the regional sports stage, competing in the annual COTECC Sub Region-4 Under-12 Team Championship hosted in neighboring Trinidad and Tobago.
For this year’s tournament, SVG entered both male and female national squads, with three emerging junior athletes and one player-coach captain assigned to each team. The boys’ roster featured rising talents Zion Byfield-Grant, Keyondré Gaymes, and Nathaniel Sheen, led by coach-captain Sebastian Cyrus. On the girls’ side, juniors Amaia Waterstone, Nakayda Cain, and Amina Lucas competed under the guidance of coach-captain Roxann Williams.
The annual COTECC Sub Region-4 competition brings together young tennis prospects from across the Lesser Antilles, with all 19 member nations eligible to field teams. In 2024, the boys’ draw attracted 10 teams from nine competing jurisdictions: Aruba, Barbados, Curaçao, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, SVG, Suriname, and host nation Trinidad and Tobago. The girls’ draw saw eight teams from seven participating countries, as Barbados and Curaçao opted not to enter a female squad this year.
After several days of intense on-court competition, SVG’s junior squads posted solid debut results. The boys’ team secured 8th place overall, finishing with a total record of two tie wins and three tie losses, broken down into four wins and six losses in singles matches and one win against three losses in doubles play. The girls’ team claimed 7th place in their draw, closing out the tournament with one tie win and four tie losses, earning four singles wins and going winless in four doubles matches.
Notably, the 2024 outing marked a string of firsts for every SVG player selected. All competitors were making their debut representing a senior national team, and for some young athletes, the trip marked their first time traveling outside of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
In an official press statement following the tournament, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tennis Association (SVGTA) expressed pride in the young delegation regardless of the final rankings. “Despite the results, the SVGTA is proud of our juniors’ showing at this tournament, and thanks them for representing St Vincent & the Grenadines,” the statement read.
The association emphasized that high-impact developmental opportunities such as this regional competition are invaluable for young athletes’ growth, both in terms of their on-court skill and off-court personal development. “Opportunities like this are crucial for player development both on and off the court. The many fruitful experiences had, and lessons learned will continue to add to their foundation, and the SVGTA is confident in each player’s commitment to improving,” the statement added.
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Tropical Storm Dolly Forms, Leeward Islands Told to Monitor
A new named tropical system, Tropical Storm Dolly, has developed in the central waters of the tropical Atlantic, prompting official warnings for communities across the Leeward Islands to keep close track of the storm’s trajectory as the weekend approaches.
In its latest official update issued at 11 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time on Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) confirmed that Dolly is currently positioned roughly 1,555 miles (2,505 kilometers) east of the Leeward Island chain. The storm carries maximum sustained wind speeds of 40 miles per hour (65 kilometers per hour), which meets the threshold for classification as a tropical storm, and is advancing westward at a brisk 24 miles per hour (39 kilometers per hour).
Per the NHC’s current forecast track, Dolly is on course to approach the Leeward Islands by this weekend. But meteorologists do not anticipate the system to gain much strength over the next two days; instead, they project that Dolly will weaken back into an open tropical wave long before it reaches the island chain.
As of Thursday’s update, no coastal watches or warnings are active for the region. Even so, the NHC emphasizes that local stakeholders and residents in the Leeward Islands should remain vigilant and continue following updates on the storm’s development.
While the storm itself is expected to degenerate, the moisture associated with the system is still forecast to bring significant precipitation to the region. Heavy downpours could start impacting parts of the Leeward Islands as early as late Saturday, continuing through Sunday. Neighboring areas including the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola are likely to see periods of intense rain on Sunday and Monday.
Forecasters warn that this heavy rainfall carries a risk of dangerous flash flooding, especially in higher-elevation areas that are more prone to rapid runoff. Right now, tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from Dolly’s central circulation. The NHC plans to release its next full advisory on the storm at 5 p.m. AST Thursday.
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Defending SPFL champs go top, first points for Central
The fourth round of Saint Lucia’s hotly contested Semi-Pro Football League (SPFL) delivered two high-stakes, dramatic matches on Wednesday evening, played at the Francis Baba Lastic Grounds in Gros Islet. When the final whistles blew, relegation-battling Central Castries had secured their first victory of the season, and two-time defending champions La Clery had climbed to a share of first place in the league table.
The first clash of the night paired Central Castries, who had entered the fixture rooted to the bottom of the standings without a single point to their name, against Anse La Raye, the reigning Tier 2 champions. Delayed arrival at the pitch left Central Castries slow to find their rhythm in the first half, with both sides unable to break the deadlock heading into the break. But the capital-based side entered the second half with unshakeable determination to end their winless drought and hand the west coast Anse La Raye side their second defeat of the campaign.
The deadlock finally broke in the 66th minute, when Pernal William fired a powerful strike into the back of the net off a well-placed free kick from Bennerero Wellington, putting Central Castries up 1-0. Anse La Raye responded quickly, drawing level seven minutes later after Erick Gabriel converted a penalty to tie the match. Yet just a minute after equalizing, Gabriel found himself under intense defensive pressure from Wellington and accidentally diverted the ball into his own net, gifting Central Castries a 2-1 win and their first three points of the season.
The upset result lifts Central Castries out of last place, moving them up to ninth in the overall standings. They now sit just above Mabouya Valley, which remains the only club in this year’s tournament yet to secure a victory.
In the evening’s second feature match, two-time back-to-back title holders La Clery faced off against hosts Gros Islet, delivering a clinical performance to claim a 2-0 win that catapults them to joint first place on the league table.
Much like the opening fixture, the first half of La Clery’s clash against Gros Islet remained scoreline, as both defenses held firm against repeated attacking pushes. It was not until the 60th minute that La Clery broke through, when Yanic Noel slotted home a shot from just outside the six-yard box. The goal came off a seamless sequence of tight, precise passing between Mervin St Romain and Erickson Magloire, who carved open the Gros Islet defense to set up Noel’s game-opening score.
Gros Islet threw players forward in the final half-hour, launching repeated attacks in search of an equalizer, but could not bypass La Clery’s star goalkeeper Devone St Prix, the reigning Footballer of the Year, who turned away every attempt on goal. As the match entered fourth-minute stoppage time, Baggio Edward sealed the three points for La Clery with a deft lob over Gros Islet goalkeeper Emmerson Biscette, pushing the final score to 2-0.
With the loss, Gros Islet remains mired just above the relegation zone. After four matches, the side holds just a single win and three points, sitting ahead of Central Castries only by a slim margin of goal difference.
Looking ahead, the SPFL’s second-tier Super League is set to continue its slate this coming Friday, returning to the Francis Baba Lastic Grounds for a matchup between Micoud and Choiseul. Over in the top-tier Premier League, fans will see a highly anticipated clash between Dennery and Vieux Fort North, two of the four remaining unbeaten teams in the 2026 tournament.
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Seifert’s sensational 105 stuns TKR
In a dominant Wednesday night display at Queen’s Park Oval, the Saint Lucia Kings secured their third consecutive seasonal victory over the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in the Caribbean Premier League, capping off a historic batting performance and a clinical bowling effort to climb to the top of the league table.
The fixture marked a key return for local player Keon Gaston, who came back into the squad following an injury layoff, while Sri Lankan batter Charith Asalanka stepped in to replace Johann Jeremiah in the Kings’ adjusted lineup. After TKR won the toss and elected to field first, the Kings got off to a blistering start that would set the tone for the entire match. Opening batters Tim Seifert and Kamil Pooran put together a rapid 60-run opening partnership to kick off the innings. When Pooran departed for a well-crafted 25 runs, the Kings’ momentum showed no signs of slowing. John Campbell stepped up to add aggressive impetus, keeping the required run rate soaring above 10 runs per over through the first half of the 20-over innings.
Led by Seifert’s red-hot form, the entire Kings batting unit attacked all areas of the ground, with the New Zealand batter delivering a standout match-winning century. Seifert remained unbeaten on 105 runs off just 61 deliveries, hammering eight boundaries and five maximums to post the highest individual score by any Kings batter in the 2024 CPL season. By the end of their innings, the Kings had posted a mammoth total of 211 runs – a new ground record for the franchise at Queen’s Park Oval, breaking the previous benchmark of 167/5 set by the side when it competed as the Saint Lucia Zouks back in 2019.
Despite the imposing target, the match was not without its own milestones for TKR. Veteran spinner Sunil Narine picked up his 650th career wicket in T20 cricket during the Kings’ innings, making him just the second bowler in the history of the format to reach the elite milestone, following Afghanistan star Rashid Khan.
TKR’s run chase got off to a similarly explosive start, with Narine joining opener Colin Munro to put on a 70-run opening stand inside the first seven powerplay overs. But the Kings turned the tide immediately after the powerplay, when skipper Roston Chase delivered back-to-back breakthroughs to derail TKR’s momentum. After claiming the second wicket of the innings, Chase dismissed TKR captain Nicholas Pooran just one ball after he walked to the crease, leaving the chase disjointed.
TKR struggled to rebuild their momentum until former captain Kieron Pollard – the leading run-scorer in T20 history – launched a late counterattack. Pollard smashed a rapid 65 runs off only 26 deliveries, including six fives and five sixes, to drag TKR back into contention. But once Pollard fell to Kings leading wicket-taker Matthew Forde, TKR’s hopes of a comeback were effectively ended. The Saint Lucia Kings eventually sealed a 36-run victory, their largest winning margin by runs this CPL season.
Named Man of the Match for his historic century, Seifert highlighted the importance of the win over one of the league’s strongest sides in post-match comments. “It probably wasn’t the best start for us in the first five games, but we said to ourselves to forget about that and focus on the next five. Now we’re two for two. So yeah, it’s a great night, and to come here and win gives huge confidence to the boys,” Seifert said. With the third straight win over TKR, the Saint Lucia Kings now sit atop the CPL table as the tournament enters its next phase.
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Green Energy : Strategic Exchange Between the Ministry of Public Works and Huawei
Against a backdrop of persistent national energy challenges and a growing global push for low-carbon development, Haitian government officials held high-stakes strategic discussions with Chinese technology giant Huawei on August 26, 2026, centered on unlocking new green energy solutions for the Caribbean nation.
Hosted by Haiti’s Ministry of Public Works, the meeting brought together Minister of Public Works Engineer Joseph Almathe Pierre Louis and a delegation of Huawei’s regional leadership and technical specialists, as part of Haiti’s broader national agenda to upgrade critical infrastructure and speed up its transition to renewable energy.
During the session, Huawei’s team delivered a comprehensive overview of the company’s latest innovations and long-term strategic vision through its Digital Power division. They outlined Huawei’s global leadership in green technology development, carbon neutrality roadmap, and cutting-edge deployments of integrated smart photovoltaic systems paired with grid-forming energy storage systems and microgrid solutions. These solutions are designed to deliver stable, sustainable power even in areas with underdeveloped existing infrastructure.
The delegation also shared empirical data on the performance of Huawei’s signature “4T” technologies, which span four core domains: Bit (digital connectivity), Watt (power generation), Heat (thermal management), and Battery (energy storage). The data demonstrated that these integrated clean energy systems deliver reliable power for dense urban centers, large industrial operations, and remote, off-grid rural communities alike, a versatility that aligns with Haiti’s uneven energy access landscape.
Core talks between Minister Pierre Louis and the Huawei team centered on identifying tangible partnership opportunities moving forward. Both sides emphasized the unique potential of smart solar microgrids to boost the overall resilience of Haiti’s national electricity grid, which has long faced chronic instability and widespread outages. They also explored the benefits of rolling out Huawei’s advanced DigiPower Management energy platforms, which use digital tools to optimize energy consumption, cut waste, and reduce the country’s overall carbon footprint.
Closing the meeting, Minister Pierre Louis praised Huawei for its ongoing technological innovation and its commitment to supporting sustainable development across emerging economies. He reaffirmed that Haiti’s Ministry of Public Works and national government remain fully dedicated to advancing locally adapted sustainable energy technologies to address the country’s long-standing energy crises.
This strategic exchange has laid the foundational groundwork for follow-up negotiations, which will focus on formalizing pilot green energy projects that aim to build a lower-carbon, more connected energy future for all Haitians.
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CHOGM 2026 Outreach Reaches More Than 300 People in Two Days
As the countdown to the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) continues, Antigua and Barbuda’s national preparatory efforts have entered a new phase of public engagement. The CHOGM 2026 Outreach Committee has expanded its nationwide public education drive by launching a targeted Government Office Outreach Tour, which connected with more than 300 stakeholders across multiple workplaces in just its first two days of operation.
This grassroots initiative was developed with one core goal: to ensure that residents of Antigua and Barbuda from all sectors and backgrounds gain clear, accessible information about the upcoming summit, understand the far-reaching significance of the small island nation serving as host, and know the concrete steps they can take to contribute to a successful, globally impactful event.
The outreach tour kicked off with an informative session at the Directorate of Gender Affairs, before moving on to a collaborative engagement with energy firm PDV Caribe. During both sessions, organizers shared key details about the 2026 summit, its strategic and economic value to Antigua and Barbuda, and the diverse roles that individual citizens and local organizations can play in welcoming visiting heads of government, official delegates, and international guests from across the 56-nation Commonwealth bloc.
Briana Anthony, who serves as both Public Relations Officer and Outreach Lead for CHOGM 2026, emphasized that the committee’s top priority is centering public inclusion and transparency in all preparatory activities. “CHOGM 2026 is not just a high-level conference for global leaders—it is a landmark national moment for Antigua and Barbuda,” Anthony explained in an interview during the tour. “We want our people to grasp just how meaningful this opportunity is, and more importantly, to understand that every citizen has a part to play. This on-the-ground outreach brings the conversation directly to people where they work and live, framing CHOGM as a shared national opportunity that everyone can contribute to.”
Anthony added that the early public response to the tour has reinforced the value of the committee’s grassroots approach. “The feedback and enthusiasm we’ve received so far have been really encouraging, and it confirms why this targeted outreach is so necessary,” she said. “As we get closer to the summit, we are fully committed to expanding these engagements and reaching people across every sector of our economy and society. The more informed our citizens are, the better prepared our entire country will be to welcome the Commonwealth with open arms.”
Jeressa Jeremy, Communications Officer at the Directorate of Gender Affairs, echoed that sentiment, noting that equipping staff with accurate information was a key part of the agency’s contribution to national preparations. “It was critical for our whole team to be up to date on CHOGM 2026 and understand what it means for Antigua and Barbuda to host this major international gathering,” Jeremy said. “We were thrilled to collaborate with the Outreach Committee to bring this important information directly to our staff, and support the national push for broad public engagement.”
For PDV Caribe, the collaboration brought a special focus on including older members of the organization that might otherwise be overlooked in national outreach. Jellette Ralph, General Manager of PDV Caribe, explained that the firm prioritized ensuring its retired pensioners had full access to information about the summit. “We made a deliberate effort to include our pensioners in this awareness drive, because hosting CHOGM is a moment that touches all generations of Antiguans and Barbudans,” Ralph said. “We were happy to partner with the Outreach Committee to make sure our pensioners stay connected to this major national event, and understand that they also have a role to play in its success.”
The cross-sector collaboration behind the outreach tour has extended beyond public and private sector institutions, with small local businesses also stepping up to support the national effort. Three local female-owned beauty and wellness businesses—Hair by Amie, owned by Amie Cham; Tucker on the Girl, owned by Cecil Joyce; and Her Luxenail Lounge, owned by Michaela Harris—generously donated prizes for lucky attendees at the first two outreach sessions, helping drive engagement and excitement for the summit.
The Outreach Committee issued a formal statement thanking the three business owners for their generous contribution to the national campaign, noting that grassroots support from local entrepreneurs is a key part of building broad national buy-in for the event.
Looking ahead, the Government Office Outreach Tour is set to continue expanding across Antigua and Barbuda in the coming weeks. The committee plans to roll out new engagements across additional government offices, private sector companies, primary and secondary schools, local communities, and other key stakeholder groups to ensure no segment of the population is left out of preparatory efforts.
As the country continues its preparations to host the 2026 CHOGM summit, the Outreach Committee is renewing its call for all citizens and organizations across Antigua and Barbuda to seek out information, get involved in local preparations, and ready themselves to play their part. For the country’s lead organizers, CHOGM 2026 is a shared national milestone—and every member of the Antigua and Barbuda community has a role to play in making it a success.