NALIS, 26th March, 2019: Remarks by Myles Lewis, Head, Corporate Social Responsibility

“It’s hard to believe we are three months deep into 2019 and that it’s Bocas time again, but here we are, preparing once more to celebrate the best in Caribbean literature at the region’s premier literary festival.

“It is NGC’s great pleasure to stand with the Bocas team as title sponsors, to launch, the series of panel discussions, workshops, poetry readings, book launches, seminars and prize giving events, that comprise the festival each year. For us, the NGC Bocas Lit Fest remains a flagship investment under our Corporate Social Responsibility portfolio, through which we can effect meaningful change in the realm of Arts and Culture and help raise the standard of national literacy.

“True to form, this year’s festival promises to entertain, to interrogate and to enlighten, with an extremely relevant theme – Border Crossings. Across the Gulf, Venezuela is roiled by economic and political crisis, forcing tens of thousands to literally cross borders in search of stability. To adapt to the wave of immigration, we in Trinidad and Tobago must in turn cross a linguistic and cultural divide. In a more figurative sense, Border Crossings speaks to defying social barriers against us, be they ascribed gender roles, that restrict our freedom of expression, or perhaps ethnic prejudice, that interferes with our relationships. Inasmuch as borders limit and confine, this theme brings to mind an attitude of resistance, and accession to voice. It is therefore quite appropriate that ‘New Voices’ is a secondary theme of the festival.”

Read More »