Stories about Trinidad & Tobago
A conversation with Paula Lucie-Smith, founder of Trinidad & Tobago's Adult Literacy Tutors Association, on the occasion of International Literacy Day
'Literacy is invisible ... the stigma means that those who need help instead [perfect] the art of keeping their poor literacy hidden. So, we need an international day to [hear] about literacy.
Why Cardi B’s undoing of appropriateness liberates us all
A Black immigrant educator explores how overlooking the role of race and language in the Black immigrant experience affects people’s emotional well-being, making them targets for repulsion, exclusion, and eradication.
Trinidad & Tobago is used to heat, but not quite like this
The fact that Trinidad and Tobago lies 10° north of the equator, coupled with the warming of the planet caused by climate change, has made the heat that much more unbearable.
Denyse Plummer, Trinidad & Tobago's unlikely calypso queen, leaves a legacy of passion, praise and patriotism
"She shattered barriers and paved the way for female calypsonians, demonstrating that the power of one's voice transcends gender and background."
Michael Anthony, Trinidad & Tobago's ‘oldest living writer’ who vividly captured Caribbean life, dies at 93
"Anthony [depicted] adolescent and rural life in a way that no other writer has done. He will go down as probably the most widely read Caribbean writer of our generation."
Take a tour of Trinidad & Tobago's Virtual Steelpan Museum
The creators worked with designers and coders, building the virtual museum almost like a sculpture, in an iterative way, paying attention to everything from aesthetics to narrative.
World Steelpan Day honours the national instrument of Trinidad & Tobago
Steelpan, the unique musical instrument invented in Trinidad and Tobago that has taken the world by storm, should be experienced first-hand to be best appreciated.
Caribbean art exhibit portrays the threatened beauty of the ocean as deep-sea mining negotiations come to an end in Jamaica
As the tense deliberations surrounding the International Seabed Authority (ISA)'s decision on deep-sea mining dragged on, a vibrant art exhibit brought the subject of the negotiations to life.
Some authors are gone, others are still writing, but Caribbean literature endures
"[A]s Peepal Tree Press publishes Rahim’s posthumous novel, [it is] pronounced among “best Caribbean novels,” tackling questions of “society and personal being asked by great novelists from Eliot to Lovelace.”
The Caribbean Community marks its golden jubilee with a promise of free movement for regional nationals
"We believe that this is a fundamental part of the integration architecture [...] the core of the regional integration movement [is] people’s ability to move freely within the Caribbean Community. "
Rethinking education in the context of sustainable development in Trinidad & Tobago
With little to no time to waste as climate change and other environmental issues accelerate at alarming rates, a comprehensive approach to empowering the next generation is needed.
A Trinidad & Tobago bookstore carrying a LGBTQ+ themed children's book causes both outrage and inspiration online
A book about identity and acceptance has found itself at the core of a discussion that some believe is about the need to protect the country's children.
A Caribbean perspective on World Sea Turtle Day
The Caribbean welcomes various types of sea turtles each year during nesting season, and most of them run the gamut from being vulnerable to critically endangered.
The saga of a jaguar allegedly terrorising a Trinidad village is a masterclass in misinformation
While some brushed off the story as flimsy and implausible, that did not stop it from getting oxygen on social media.
The Corpus Christi procession in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in photos
Trinidad and Tobago is just one of 18 countries that grants the Roman Catholic feast of Corpus Christi as a national holiday.
As the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season begins, the Caribbean looks back—and to the future
At COP27, the Loss and Damage issue was finally added to the agenda, but any sustainable positive impact on the Caribbean must go beyond this.
The Caribbean mourns resilient rock and roll legend Tina Turner
Her decision to go public about her abuse made Turner even more relatable. This was especially true in the Caribbean, which struggles with high rates of domestic violence and femicide.
The Nuh Dutty Up Jamaica beach cleanup points to the need for greater public education
In the Caribbean, though beach clean-ups and plastic collections help to reduce the amount of plastic and raise the level of environmental consciousness, they never seem to be enough.
King Charles’ coronation stirs little interest in the Caribbean, save for how he plans to respond to calls for reparations
"King Charles must translate the rhetoric of sorrow into the truly meaningful language of immediate reparations."
The press and human rights in Trinidad & Tobago
"I believe press freedom is intrinsically aligned to a wide swathe of freedoms and human rights ..."
Why does Trinidad & Tobago tax books?
"[T]he finance minister described the tax regime as fiscal policy, not social policy, but that’s merely a mirage. All taxation reflects an assessment of social needs and priorities..."