Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star and Harvard graduate Tatyana Ali, and celebrated author and Stanford University’s Dr. Vaughn Rasberry, will be keynote speakers at the Caribbean Film & Media Academy’s (CFMA) inaugural Creativity & Innovation Youth Forum on January 31.
According to a release from CFMA, a division of Imagine Media International Limited, the one-day forum is designed for students, creative professionals, and educators between the ages of 13 and 21. Caribbean storytelling and scholarship will be focal areas.
CFMA says the event is the first of an initiative intended to travel across the Caribbean, with the upcoming Saint Lucia edition being held during the Nobel Laureate Festival, recognising the intellect and creative courage embodied by Sir Derek Walcott and Sir Arthur Lewis.
“Walcott and Lewis demonstrated that Caribbean excellence is both intellectual and imaginative,” Lisa Wickham, Founder of CFMA, said in a statement. “The Creativity & Innovation Forum is about translating that legacy into lived experience for young people today, helping them understand that their stories, ideas, and scholarship have value, power, and global relevance.”
Ali, a five-time NAACP Image Award winner, producer, business owner, activist, and Harvard graduate, will be part of a keynote conversation on Storytelling & Scholarship alongside her husband, Dr Rasberry — a renowned author and Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Associate Professor of English and African American Studies at Stanford University. The two will explore storytelling, education, and the influence of self-definition on shaping communities.
The day’s activities will also include CFMA-led interactive MicroLabs, including acting, writing, digital content creation, spoken word, and creative entrepreneurship. Participants will also be connected with leaders, educators, and other creatives during a Leadership Pairing Initiative Luncheon.
The event will be held at the Pastoral Centre. To ensure broad access, participation in the forum is free due to support from public and private sector partnerships.
CFMA is hosting the forum in association with Minotaur Shipping & Project Management Ltd, Dove Productions, and Wavemaker Productions. The event is also supported by the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority, Windjammer Landing Resort & Residences, Candy Ann Nicholas, Daune Charlery-John, Natalie John, Cailey Greaves, Michelle Palmer, Lion Chris Emmanuel, DIY Rentals, and Bank of St Lucia Limited.
