CARIFESTA XV, a platform to build resilience through Region’s diverse cultures – CARICOM Chair

– invites Community to be part of event from August 22-31

Just days into her tenure as Chair of CARICOM, Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley believes that CARIFESTA XV will be an ideal platform for the Region to build resilience through a celebration of the Community’s rich, diverse cultures.
The Prime Minister shared this in her New Year Statement as she invited the Region to the festival of arts to be hosted in Barbados between August 22 and 31, 2025.

“I’m inviting you, God willing, to create, to participate and simply to come. I speak to each and every one of us as Caribbean people, not just as members of CARICOM, but every one of the Caribbean people… come,” Motely stated while emphasising that the festival will be an occasion to “celebrate all that is good and is possible for our Caribbean civilisation, as we do what we do best in the expression of our Festival of Arts – CARIFESTA.”
“As we would say in Barbados, “miss this and blame yourself”. Food and fashion, music and dance, art, craft, sculpture and good old Caribbean talk from philosophy to attitudes, from religion to development. Let us use this as an opportunity to build resilience in our Region spiritually and psychologically. Let us gather and feed our souls and nurture our spirit as Caribbean people,” the Prime Minister urged.
Planning for CARIFESTA XV is already in motion, with virtual meetings convened in September and November 2024 with the CARICOM Secretariat and officials from the Prime Minister’s Office and Division of Culture (Barbados).
In December 2024, an in-person meeting was held with stakeholders in Barbados. In attendance were Dr Hilary Brown, Programme Manager (Culture), CARICOM Secretariat; Michelle Maynard, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture (Barbados); and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Barbados) and the National Cultural Foundation.
The theme, regional launch of the festival, the Host Country Agreement, the establishment of the host country management committee and regional technical support team were critical aspects of the discussion. The festival’s logistics, programme details and the marketing and communication approaches also formed part of the agenda.
“Our priorities are the visibility of the festival, ensuring that our artists realise benefits from participating and that Caribbean people and international visitors have all the requisite information to enjoy the various aspects of the events,” Dr Hilary Brown stated.
She reiterated the CARICOM Secretariat’s support for the planning and execution of CARIFESTA XV. The last CARIFESTA was held in Trinidad and Tobago in 2019.