As a cultural commission and a showcase for contemporary expression, Caribbean InTransit fosters international and regional partnerships. Through our festivals, journal, workshop series and Google Talk Hangout Series, we forge meaningful and ongoing relationships with public and private organizations, scholars, cultural producers and their organizations and entrepreneurs to build a community of value.
Driven by the need for social and economic development of our region, we use the arts & entrepreneurship as critical tools in forging public-private-community partnerships.
We are about Access, Practice, Critique and Sustainability.
International & Governmental Agencies
Inter-American Development Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is the main source of multilateral financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides loans, grants, guarantees, policy advice, and technical assistance to the public and private sectors of its borrowing member countries. Four IDB Departments will be engaged in the Creatives of the Caribbean Festival: The Caribbean Country Department (CCB); The Cultural, Solidarity and Creativity Affairs Division (EXR/CSO); the Human Resources Department (HRD); and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF).
VIII Americas Competitiveness Forum, Ministry of Planning & Sustainability, Government of Trinidad &Tobago
Theme: The Human Imagination at Work: Driving Competitiveness, Powering Innovation
Brain power and the creative power of the human imagination are now the drivers of competitive advantage as innovation and talent have become local as well as global assets. Innovation is a process result and imagination is the fuel on which it works. Innovation cannot be created without imagination.
Human imagination focuses on the creative aspect of human capital – innovation and entrepreneurship. From the term human imagination the following elements emerge: Creativity, Innovation, Competitiveness, Science, Research and Technology.
“The critical thinker asks questions about the world as it is and addresses alternative ways of seeing, of doing, of being. The creative thinker looks at ways and means of doing new things. Both are vital for innovation…because creativity drives innovation; innovation is not simply about supply, demand and consumption. Innovation is also about creating a value proposition to meet social needs and in the process finding and unearthing further untapped markets.”
—Senator Dr. the Honourable Bhoendradatt Tewarie, Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development,Managing Talent: Key Element for Innovation and Prosperity, address at the VI Americas Competitiveness Forum, Colombia, 2012.
Arts Institutions
Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage
The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage is a research and educational unit of the Smithsonian Institution promoting the understanding and continuity of diverse, contemporary grassroots cultures in the United States and around the world. The Center also produces major national cultural events consistent with its mission.
Duke Ellington School of the Arts
Duke Ellington School of the Arts was recognized by US News as one of the top schools in the nation and #3 best schools in the District of Columbia. The Duke Ellington School of the Arts has a long history of supporting communities in the Washington Metropolitan area, across the United States and abroad, by providing arts education and enrichment through professional high-quality artistic presentations. This is done by guiding students through a full academic course of study and an arts major: Dance, Literary Media and Communications, Museum Studies, Instrumental or Vocal Music, Theatre, Technical Design and Production, or Visual Arts. Annually, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts receives well over 1,000 requests for their young artists to participate in community engagement collaborations. Young performers from the School will be showcased during the Creatives of the Caribbean concert.
Cultural Academy for Excellence
The Cultural Academy for Excellence (“CAFE”), a 17 year-old, award-winning, music-based academic and life-skills enrichment program, was started in 1996 as an enticement for youth to stay in school, stay out of trouble and perform well academically. Research revealed the history of Caribbean cultures successfully implementing early intervention for at-risk teens by blending the therapeutic aspect of percussion and the aesthetic lure of the melodic SteelPan. Over the years, CAFE has provided more than 500 youths and 100 adults with culturally-based enrichment activities facilitated by professional musicians and teachers. On Saturdays, CAFE offers Academic Tutoring and Music classes, using the SteelPan (of ‘pan’) as the primary instrument, as well as Visual Arts and Chess. The curriculum incorporates the Maryland State Department of Education’s standards for music instruction as set forth in Essential Learner Outcomes for Fine Arts. In addition to Academic and Music classes, CAFE sponsors one of the only “After-school” Mock Trial teams in Prince Georges County and offer opportunities for debate competitions, and MathCounts competitions.
