GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS, 20 June 2021:

Colours Caribbean—formerly Colours Cayman—celebrated their first year as a locally registered non-profit organisation on 19 June 2021 at Central Terrace, Bayshore Mall with an anniversary fundraiser, featuring Governor Martyn Roper as the keynote speaker.

The event kicked off with drinks, music and a complimentary buffet followed by a presentation by Billie Bryan, Founder & President at Colours Caribbean, chronicling the history of the organisation and highlighting some of their initiatives and programming that are currently in development. She also elaborated on the change from “Colours Cayman” to “Colours Caribbean” as the organisation moves to expand its efforts throughout the whole of the Caribbean and Latin America, beginning with the British Overseas Territories, i.e. Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Montserrat and Turks & Caicos.

Other speakers included Sutton Burke, Clinical Director at Infinite Mindcare; Carolina Ferreira, Deputy Director at Cayman Islands Red Cross; Eyole Obi of Colours Youth Programme; Chantelle Day; and Dr Leonardo Raznovich, with a statement from Nancy Kelley, Chief Executive Officer at Stonewall.

The evening was capped off with a live performance by local youth band, “Ask Her,” featuring Soleil Parkinson of Colours Youth Programme, followed by a live DJ set by Billie Bryan, aka “DJ Solstice.”

During his speech, the Governor reassured attendees that should the judicial review currently challenging his use of Section 81 of the Constitution be successful, the UK will impose the law if the present government is unable to do so. Dr Leonardo Raznovich, legal advisor on constitutional matters for Colours Caribbean, has also assembled an impressive legal team to address the matter of the judicial review, consisting of representatives from McGrath Tonner and Travers Smith as well as Helen Mountfield QC of Matrix Chambers.

Billie Bryan and Dr Leonardo Raznovich also elaborated on the organisation’s involvement with and strong support and endorsement from Stonewall in the UK, in particular with regards to marriage equality in the British Overseas Territories and the ongoing judicial review in the Cayman Islands.

Colours Caribbean would like to extend their gratitude to everyone who attended and especially to the firms and organisations who generously purchased tickets for the event in bulk, including Davenport and Walkers. The organisation would also like to thank Brigita Nemet, owner of Central Terrace and her entire staff for doing an excellent job of catering to all guests and speakers.

Lastly, Colours Caribbean thanks their passionate team of volunteers and the Colours Collective for helping to make the event a great success.

About Colours Caribbean

Colours Caribbean is a locally operated non-profit that aims to foster a safe and comfortable social environment for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community of the Caribbean and Latin America by building a network of regional businesses and public venues free of discrimination and harassment towards anyone on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights as Human Rights and promote the inclusion and equality of LGBTQIA+ persons in the Cayman Islands and throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.

Photograph by Kayla Young