Chairman’s Message

The Trinidad and Tobago National Commission for UNESCO has an important responsibility: to make UNESCO’s work meaningful, visible and accessible to the people of our country.

For me, that means going beyond representation. It means creating stronger connections between UNESCO’s global priorities and the realities, needs and possibilities within our schools, communities, institutions and national development agenda.

Education must remain central to that work. In advancing Sustainable Development Goal 4 — inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all — we must continue asking whether every learner is truly being reached, particularly those who are underserved, under-represented or at risk of being left behind.

Quality education cannot simply mean access to a classroom. It must also mean meaningful opportunities to learn, to participate, to develop agency, to build relevant knowledge and skills, and to imagine a future in which every learner can contribute.

Our Commission therefore has an opportunity to serve as a bridge — connecting educators, young people, researchers, cultural organisations, scientists, communities and public institutions with ideas, networks, programmes and opportunities that can help create lasting impact.

As we strengthen the work of the Commission, our focus is on meaningful participation, stronger partnerships, greater public awareness and practical action across UNESCO’s areas of competence. We also want to ensure that the voices and experiences of communities that are too often under-represented are part of the conversations that shape policy, programmes and national priorities.

At the same time, Trinidad and Tobago must not only receive ideas from the international community. We have knowledge, experiences, innovations and perspectives of our own that can contribute to wider Caribbean and global conversations.

UNESCO’s values ultimately come alive through people. Our task is therefore not simply to promote those values, but to help translate them into opportunities for learning, inclusion, collaboration, innovation and sustainable national development.

I look forward to building that work together.