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UWI Hosts Landmark International Migration Conference Amid Growing Caribbean Mobility Challenges

For Release Upon Receipt - December 19, 2025

St. Augustine


St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago – December 8th 2025 - As migration and displacement reshape societies across the Caribbean and the Americas, The University of the West Indies (The UWI) St. Augustine Campus, is set to host one of the region’s most significant gatherings on the subject - the International Conference on Migrant and Refugee Issues in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean.

 This conference comes at a critical moment for Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean, where shifting migration patterns, rising displacement from regional crises and growing multicultural communities are transforming social, educational and policy landscapes. This signature event will be hosted from Monday 8 December to Wednesday 10 December, 2025, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, followed by a public Migrant Fair on Thursday 11 December, 2025 at the Centre for Language Learning (CLL) on campus from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

 Countries across the hemisphere are increasingly confronted with the need to balance humanitarian protection, integration and social cohesion, even as institutions navigate limited resources and evolving public perceptions. At the same time, classrooms, workplaces and community spaces are becoming more linguistically and culturally diverse, creating urgent demand for evidence-based approaches to bilingual education, migrant support services and inclusive policy-making. Against this backdrop, the conference offers a timely platform for local, regional and international researchers, practitioners and policymakers to address these challenges collaboratively, share critical data, and develop strategies to strengthen national and regional responses.

 This landmark event marks the CLL’s first Migration Conference and Fair, jointly organized with the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics (DMLL), with support from the EU-Latin America Academic Synergies (EULAS) network.

 Participants will examine migration and displacement through multidisciplinary lenses, exploring urgent issues related to social justice, language and identity, educational access, multiculturalism, migration policy and the lived experiences of refugees, migrant workers, asylum-seekers and children on the move.

 With over three days of robust discourse and policy engagement, the conference will feature keynote lectures by Dr. Nicha Selvon-Ramkissoon and Ms. Alma Jenkins Acosta. There will be thematic panel sessions, roundtable discussions, interactive workshops and more than three dozen peer-reviewed presentations representing the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.

 For more details, visit the conference webpage: https://sta.uwi.edu/fhe/cll/conferences/

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About The University of the West Indies

The University of the West Indies (The UWI) is the Caribbean’s premier higher education institution and one of only two regional universities in the world. With five campuses across the English-speaking Caribbean and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe, The UWI continues to be a beacon of academic excellence, research innovation, and societal impact. Consistently ranked among the world’s best by Times Higher Education (THE), The UWI is a global leader in addressing critical challenges, including climate change, sustainability, and development.

 

As The UWI St. Augustine Campus celebrates its 65th anniversary in 2025 under the theme Beyond 65: From the Caribbean, For the World, it pays tribute to its Caribbean roots while highlighting its contributions to solving global challenges. This milestone underscores the campus's significant role in producing ground-breaking research and fostering talent that transcends regional boundaries to shape a better world. The UWI St. Augustine’s researchers, academics, and graduates continue to make an international impact, exemplifying the university’s mission to serve the region while influencing the world.

 

Learn more at www.uwi.edu 

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