PORT OF SPAIN – Trinidad and Tobago will play host to the International Conference on Caribbean Literature (ICCL) from November 3rd to 6th at the Hyatt Regency, Trinidad.
The Trinidad and Tobago Convention Bureau, a unit of the Tourism Development Company (TDC), has partnered with Morehouse College and the University of the West Indies in the hosting of this year’s ICCL forum which is expected to draw more than 200 participants from the Caribbean region, North, Central and Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
The event will feature keynote speakers Earl Lovelace, winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize and Brenda Flanagan, in addition to an exciting line-up of events including tours to Trinidad’s famed literary sites and a day trip to the award-winning eco-paradise of Tobago.
The ICCL is being hosted in Trinidad and Tobago for the first time since the prestigious conference was established in 1997, and will highlight eminent regional authors and presentations on English, Spanish and French Caribbean literature.
The conference also aims to provide a forum for global understanding of Caribbean Culture.
Ernest Littles, TDC’s President and Director of Tourism, said the conference would bring an added boost to Trinidad and Tobago’s growing reputation as a premier destination for international meetings and conferences.
“The goal of this conference is to promote a forum for global understanding, discussion and promotion of our region’s culture and literature. As an international conference we will have a captive global audience who will experience our cuisine, culture and attractions. And we plan to capitalise on this opportunity to ensure we have return visits,” Littles said.
Founded by Dr Melvin B. Rahming, former Chair of the Department of English and Morehouse College, USA and Dr Jorge Roman-Lagunas, Director of the Centre for International Studies at Purdue University, the ICCL aims to provide a forum for the global discussion of Caribbean literature while involving regional nations in the discussion and promotion of their own, and each other’s literature and culture.
