At the time of writing it is early February, and Carnival season 2026 is almost at its apex. Trinidad and Tobago pulse with the energy of this almost supernatural expression of our nation’s culture. Our people, and the many guests from around the world who come to take part in the festival, are being treated to a nationwide exposition of creativity: music, performance, art, dance, and craftsmanship.
Patrons pour out onto the streets from open air nightspots. Mas-makers work well into the night, stitching and sewing costumes. Calypsonians get the crowds moving (and many times laughing) at the calypso tents. The sound of steelpan rings out at events and in competition. The weekends are filled with all-inclusive fetes, outdoor events that combine outstanding service to attendees with live music from leading performers in soca, chutney soca, and the other genres that have emerged from our ever-evolving culture. Carnival is culture, and creativity—and industry.
For decades now, academics, policymakers, and entrepreneurs in the Carnival industry, have recognised its potential and made strides in realising it. Scholars and educators right here at UWI St Augustine have played an important role in understanding and advancing the industry. Much of our output comes from the Faculties of Humanities and Education and Social Sciences, but Carnival and the cultural/creative industry in general has benefitted in sometimes surprising ways from the work of all our faculties.
This campus was a pioneer in the all-inclusive Carnival fete space. For decades, UWI Fete was a mainstay on the Carnival calendar and influential in shaping premium party events with food, beverages, live music, and every other aspect of event management. Most importantly, UWI Fete allowed UWI St Augustine to provide bursaries and scholarships for well over 4,000 deserving students.
Estimates place the value of T&T Carnival at approximately TT$1 billion, and contributing between 4 percent and 6 percent of GDP. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the National Carnival Commission (NCC) is collaborating with the Inter-American Development Bank on a pilot study to measure Carnival’s economic impact. The goal, the news report said, was to build “a methodology that the country can own and apply to future festivals, allowing policymakers and stakeholders to make evidence-based decisions around investment and growth.”
I fully support this initiative and other such moves with the goal of achieving the full economic potential of the creative and culture industries which have been valued globally as high as US$4.3 trillion. Trinidad and Tobago has the creativity, talent, entrepreneurial genius, and academic expertise to claim a bigger piece of that pie. UWI St Augustine has been integral to this work from the beginning, and looks for opportunities to deepen its partnerships and engagement with these industries and the government to make T&T an international capital for the arts, entertainment, and tourism.
This commitment extends beyond Carnival. Trinidad and Tobago is blessed with a potent mixture of diverse cultural influences and a people naturally gifted and inspired to create art in many forms. UWI St Augustine’s Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) trains professionals in many aspects of art and performance—on stage and behind the curtain, in the art gallery, and even in the rooms where business ideas are formulated and refined. The DCFA is a regional resource for the development of culture professionals.
Last Sunday (February 8), I was pleased to attend The Old Yard, DCFA’s signature Carnival event/ The Old Yard is a festival and time capsule for traditional Carnival that simultaneously celebrates and preserves a cultural cornerstone that goes all the way back to the 19th century, gives students valuable experience hosting and performing at a professional event, and shows the revenue-generating potential of niche events.
It was a wonderful experience, interacting with the old time Carnival characters (played by students); spectating the stickfighting, moko jumbies, jab jabs, midnight robbers and pierrot grenade; listening to the live and recorded music; and above all else enjoying the community of culture lovers.
That, above all else, is the ultimate value of creativity and culture, the way it brings people together, activates their emotions, provides healing and guidance, and helps them understand themselves and their place in the world.
