Rethinking Caribbean Diplomacy In A Shifting Global Landscape

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By Dr. Isaac Newton

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. Dec. 11, 2025: Caribbean diplomacy must begin with a clear understanding of who we are and what we choose to become. Foreign policy is the outward expression of our identity. It carries our values, voice, and vision into the global arena. Strategy is the quiet discipline of listening beneath the noise of events and sensing change before it arrives. An asset is anything that grows in strength when used with intention. Transformation is the decision to rise into something greater than habit or history. When these ideas converge, foreign policy becomes the compass of national renewal and a foundation for a confident regional posture.

Dr. Denzil Douglas

This vision resonates with the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, one of the most accomplished statesmen in the modern Caribbean. A former four term Prime Minister and now Minister of Foreign Affairs, Economic Development, International Trade, Investment, and Commerce, he guides national engagement where domestic aspiration meets global possibility. His portfolio demands clarity, discipline, and forward-looking imagination. It is from this vantage that he reminds us, “Foreign policy must not simply describe our world. It must shape the world we wish to enter.”

Norms And Competing Ambitions

The Caribbean operates in a world of shifting alliances, fragile norms, and competing ambitions. Powerful nations speak of rules while bending them and praise sovereignty while ignoring it when convenient. For small island states, this produces both vulnerability and opportunity for those who navigate with insight. Influence no longer depends on size but on resolve, relationships, and resonance. Caribbean diplomacy must move from reaction to deliberate direction, strengthening resilience, economic security, and regional standing.

Diplomacy reaches far beyond negotiating tables. It shapes the price of food, the strength of our borders, the health of our reefs, and the energy that powers our homes. Foreign policy becomes the bridge that determines whether opportunities land on our shores or drift elsewhere. To secure them, Caribbean ministries of foreign affairs must be at the center of national strategy, coordinating systems and sectors with focus and discipline rather than ceremonial visibility.

Looking Outward

Looking outward, partnerships with nations such as Indonesia, Africa, India, Brazil, the Middle East, and other countries with shared needs and compelling interests provide practical paths to renewal. These regions read the sea, the land, and the global economy as teachers rather than boundaries. Shared efforts in marine stewardship, climate resilience, renewable energy, technology transfer, and skills training can lift livelihoods and expand national capacity. These are immediate frontiers where cooperation turns potential into progress. The decade ahead invites the Caribbean to embrace a future powered by clean energy, guided by science, enriched by sustainable oceans, and led by citizens equipped for a complex world. If we meet this moment with clarity and courage, our diplomacy becomes not a mirror of global change but the instrument through which transformation takes flight.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Isaac Newton is a strategist and scholar trained at Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia. He advises governments and international institutions on governance, transformation, and global justice, helping nations and organizations turn vision into sustainable progress.

A Tribute To Potters’ Queen Of Education – Teacher Gen

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By Dr. Isaac Newton

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. Dec. 11, 2025: Some lives arrive quietly, yet they leave whole generations glowing. Teacher Gen was such a life. In Potters Village in Antigua, she became our first library, our first lesson, our first understanding of discipline wrapped in devotion. For more than seventy years, she taught us not only how to read and count but how to stand tall in the world.

Her classroom felt like a living garden. Desks opened like fresh soil. Chalk drifted like soft pollen. And we, small and curious, blossomed beneath her care. She could correct you with a look, steady you with a word, or prune you gently with that well-known belt that somehow felt like love disguised as firmness. She knew the balance between shaping and sheltering.

FLASHBACK – Teacher Gen warmly greeted by a community member as schoolchildren stand behind them during a tribute event in Potters Village, Antigua. The gathering reflected her decades of service as a beloved educator whose influence shaped generations.

MEMORY

She remembered every family. She remembered who raised you, who taught them, and how you were expected to carry that legacy forward. Her reminders could sting, yet they settled in the heart like seeds that later broke open into wisdom. Her lessons were not just instruction. They were inheritance.

I spent some of my primary years beneath her watchful eye. Her expectations carved lines of purpose into me. Her affection strengthened me. Even in her later years, when she drifted into brief classroom naps, she still sensed everything. A whisper. A shuffle. A thought of mischief. She woke with your name ready on her lips, as if teaching flowed through her even in rest.

When I became a teacher, I asked her for guidance. She spoke with quiet authority.

“Love the children. Their parents may test you, but do not allow rudeness. You are preparing them for life and for heaven. And go to class prepared. You are shaping destinies.”

I carry those words into every room where learning and leadership meet.

Teacher Gen embodied the mind, the heart, and the hands of true education. Her knowledge was deep. Her compassion was wide. Her influence was lasting. Every Independence poem, every Easter recitation, every Christmas program bore her touch. Our village grew because she planted confidence and character in every child.

Today we stand in the shade of the great tree she became. Her branches reach across generations. Her roots hold our memory steady. We honor more than a teacher. We honor a life of luminous service. She showed us that greatness grows quietly, nurtures patiently, and endures beautifully.

So we celebrate our Queen of Education, whose presence shaped us, whose memory steadies us, and whose legacy will continue to bloom long after us.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Isaac Newton is a strategist and scholar trained at Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia. He advises governments and international institutions on governance, transformation, and global justice, helping nations and organizations turn vision into sustainable progress.

Kes The Band To Headline Jazz At Lincoln Center’s Unity Jazz Festival In 2026

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News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Weds. Dec. 10, 2025: Trinidad and Tobago’s globally acclaimed Kes the Band will kick off 2026 on one of the world’s most prestigious stages, headlining Jazz at Lincoln Center’s highly anticipated Unity Jazz Festival on January 8-9, 2026. The group, led by frontman Kees Dieffenthaller, will bring their signature “Creole Soul” sound – infused with soca, calypso, reggae, and contemporary Caribbean rhythms – to the Rose Theater in Manhattan for an unforgettable celebration of music and culture.

FLASHBACK – Kes the Band frontman Kees Dieffenthaller performs energetically on stage in a white suit, bringing Caribbean “Creole Soul” vibes to a live audience. The performance highlights the dynamic stage presence that Kes will bring to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Unity Jazz Festival on January 8–9, 2026. (Credit: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images)

The two-night festival marks a major moment for Caribbean representation in international jazz programming, pairing Kes with award-winning Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles, who will join the band for a set that blends jazz improvisation with island energy.

Billed as “winter’s hottest jazz festival,” the Unity Jazz Festival transforms every performance space inside Jazz at Lincoln Center into a multi-stage musical journey. Audiences can choose between exclusive access to the Kes and Friends concerts or explore dozens of performances throughout the halls featuring rising stars, jazz veterans, and global innovators.

Kes & Friends: A Caribbean Explosion At Lincoln Center

Kes will headline two shows:

Thursday, Jan. 8 – Rose Theater

Friday, Jan. 9 – Appel Room

Both concerts are included in the All-Access Pass, which guarantees assigned seating for the Kes performance while providing full access to all festival activity on the selected night.

For Kes, known internationally for hits like “Hello,” “Savannah Grass,” and “Mental Day,” the Lincoln Center appearance represents a fusion of Caribbean soul with the improvisational essence of jazz—a meeting point of cultures and genres in one of the world’s greatest performing arts venues.

Trumpeter Etienne Charles, celebrated for weaving Caribbean folk traditions into contemporary jazz, will join the band for collaborative performances that highlight the region’s vibrant musical heritage.

A Festival That Celebrates The Full Spectrum of Jazz

Beyond the headline show, the Unity Jazz Festival showcases over a dozen artists and ensembles that reflect the evolving landscape of jazz. The Nightly Festival Pass gives attendees access to all festival events – except the Kes concerts, offering a rich lineup featuring:

Tributes to Latin jazz legend Eddie Palmieri

Cellist and composer Tomeka Reid

Jazz-funk visionary DJ Logic

Blues and guitar rising star Solomon Hicks

Saxophonist Erena Terakubo

Pianist and composer Gabriel Chakarji

Percussionist and composer Rajna Swaminathan

Kate Kortum, winner of the 2025 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition

The festival will also present the Jazz Legacies Fellowship Honors All-Star Concert, featuring over 15 master musicians including George Coleman, Amina Claudine Myers, Akua Dixon, Herlin Riley, and Billy Hart.

With performances unfolding simultaneously across Rose Theater, the Appel Room, and various smaller spaces, Jazz at Lincoln Center promises an immersive experience where audiences can wander, discover new sounds, and engage with jazz in its most expansive, creative form.

A Major Moment For Caribbean Music Globally

For the Caribbean diaspora, the Kes + Etienne Charles collaboration at the Unity Jazz Festival is a milestone – a rare opportunity to see the region’s musical identity spotlighted at one of New York City’s most iconic cultural institutions.

The event underscores Jazz at Lincoln Center’s commitment to showcasing global influences within the jazz tradition, while amplifying Caribbean artistry on a world stage.

Tickets & Access

Festival passes are now available HERE

A Weekend of Music, Movement, and Meaning

From Creole rhythms to improvisational brilliance, the 2026 Unity Jazz Festival promises an exhilarating convergence of cultures—inviting audiences to “find their rhythm” and celebrate the unifying power of music.