When CARIFESTA VIII – the Caribbean’s premier cultural event - winds down on August 30th in Suriname, organisers hope they would have found the answer to one of the most important questions_ “where do we go from here.”
Press Releases
CARIFESTA is returning to the mainland in August 2003, in a year when both host country –Suriname- and its CARICOM sister states have a lot to commemorate - CARICOM marked its 30th anniversary and Suriname commemorated the 140th anniversary of slavery abolishment, 150 years of Chinese immigration, 130 years of Indian immigration and 115 years of Indonesian immigration, the cultural richness of the Caribbean will fall in the spotlight.
Caribbean youths have reached several milestones in recent years; one of the most important is the growing recognition that they are better able to bridge the gap between themselves and adults. There are still a lot of challenges to overcome though. Some of these challenges will be discussed during the youth symposium that will be part of CARIFESTA VIII, scheduled for 24 to 30 August in Suriname.
The Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat presents his compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Organisation and wishes to express his shock at the bombing of the United Nations offices in Baghdad, and the death of Special Envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and other United Nations officials who lost their lives or were injured in pursuit of the noble goal of peace.
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat presents its compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil and has the honour to convey the following message.
   “The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat expresses its deepest condolences on the tragic passing of United Nations Special Envoy Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, who died in service for humanity.
The process of inaugurating the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) before the end of 2003 has taken two significant strides forward with the finalisation of the membership of both the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission and the Board of Trustees of the CCJ Trust Fund.
The Agreement Establishing the Court sets out in Article V (1), the composition of the Commission, as nominees from the regional entities or, in two cases, representatives of permanent organs of Member States.
   “There is hereby established a Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission which shall consist of the
Twenty-eight countries will take part in one of the most diverse Caribbean Festival of the Arts ever, which gets underway in Paramaribo, Suriname on Sunday 24 August.
The CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission was mounted at the invitation of the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands to monitor the conduct of the by-elections in Five Cays and South Caicos on 7 August 2003.
In the Mission’s assessment, the by-elections were conducted in a free and peaceful manner and good spirit. The process was transparent and the secrecy of the ballot was respected. The polling officials managed the process fairly and competently. The vote count was carried out accurately and efficiently in the presence of the candidates and their agents.
CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington was among 35 members of staff of the CARICOM Secretariat who received awards at a ceremony on 23 July 2003 at Le Meridien Pegasus in Georgetown, Guyana.
It was an extraordinary occasion for the Secretary-General who received two other awards apart from one for 10 years of service. The first was a Special Award for being the “longest serving Secretary-General” having begun his tenure in 1992. Roderick Rainford, his immediate predecessor had served for nine years and was the previous longest serving Secretary-General.
Five regional artists have been selected to display their work in a special exhibition in honour of the Arts to be held at the Presidential Palace in Paramaribo, Suriname during CARIFESTA VIII scheduled for 24-30 August 2003 in that CARICOM Member State.