NOTED BY BEVAN SPRINGER - Lessons from Mia and Minshall: Strengthening Caribbean identity, building cultural confidence

Lessons from Mia and Minshall: Strengthening Caribbean identity, building cultural confidence

The people of the Caribbean are creative, colorful and competent.

Today, I decided to adopt a practice from my father, which is to dig into the archives of some of the brilliant presentations of Caribbean statesmen and women, none the least of which is Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, whom many would yield as the Caribbean’s chief spokesperson on global affairs.

While watching a video on Instagram, I found it interesting that the voice of the Prime Minister served as a narration to drive home the importance of our Caribbean identity. I explored further and discovered it was taken from the PM’s presentation at an Inter-American Development Bankvirtual event during the heart of the pandemic.

Inspired by the words and accomplishments of Trinidadian mas-man Peter Minshall, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of small islanders shedding their self-contempt “because some people still don’t understand that the things that we do best are worthy of hallelujahs.”

The Prime Minister went on to address the issues of identity and lack of cultural confidence in the Caribbean region, stating that they are at the root of many of our current regional problems, from political unrest to gun violence to skin bleaching. She highlighted the commendable job the Caribbean region has done in providing for the needs of its people, despite not having the same input and resources afforded to many European and Asian states by multilateral bodies.

At the same time, the Prime Minister questioned the risk averse nature of Caribbean agencies and institutions, given the creative and successful personalities the region has produced – from CLR James and Sir Garry Sobers to Shirley Chisolm, Bob Marley and Rihanna.

She called for the development of disruptive and forward-thinking strategies that not only fast-track regional development but also impact the world.

“True prosperity and transformation will not come from Caribbean technologies until we have the cultural confidence that Peter Minshall exhibited when he put stilt walkers at the (1992) Barcelona Olympiad. We must have the cultural confidence to develop technologies of our own kind on a timeline that plays to our strengths and which captures the imagination of our own people,” said Prime Minister Mottley.

The Prime Minister’s comments from more than two years ago are a stark reminder of the importance of developing and implementing such strategies. “It is only when we increase our cultural confidence and thus maximize the power of our creative imagination that we will be able to build technologies that unlock our region’s true potential,” the Prime Minister stated.

It’s always inspiring to take a trip down memory lane. Let us now take heed of Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s words and work towards a brighter future for the Caribbean.