Barbados-Cayman Youth Exchanges

Barbados and the Cayman Islands have pledged to undertake youth exchange visits to strengthen ties between the two states. This assurance came after the Cayman Islands Minister of Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage, Isaac Rankine when he paid a courtesy call on Barbados’ Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, the Honourable Charles Griffith, at his Sky Mall, Haggatt Hall, St. Michael offices on August 26th.

During the talks, Minister Griffith offered to do exchanges in several sporting disciplines, including Barbados’ indigenous road tennis, which he touted as “a relatively low-cost sport with numerous health benefits.”  Noting that he was always interested in having young people travel, the Youth and Sports Minister identified a window of opportunity in the summer between July and September, 2026, to execute the programme.

Minister Rankine expressed an interest in learning about the game of road tennis, contending that it would complement pickle ball which is widely played in the Cayman Islands, along with netball, cricket, football and basketball. “Those exchanges are something we encourage especially among our young people, and I would have no problem with that,” Minister Rankine revealed.

During the hour long talks the two parties also exchanged information about cultural affairs and youth initiatives they have embarked on like summer camps, youth parliaments, youth symposiums and inter-generational cottages and hubs.

The Cayman Islands delegation disclosed that the inter-generational hubs and cottages are initiatives designed to bridge the gap between the youths and their seniors to pass down oral and written traditions from generation to generation. “We try to bring in the ageing population and have them teach and interact with our young people, passing down information from generation to generation,” Chief Officer, Teresa Echenique disclosed.

Both sides also fielded a call from sprinter Davonte Howell, a Barbadian born Caymanian who recently won gold at the Junior Pan Am Games in Paraguay. Howell is a third year student at the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville in the United States.

Minister Griffith, as well as Minister Rankine, both congratulated Howell on his success and wished him well as he competes at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan in mid-September. “Congratulations, best  of luck and stay healthy and do what you are supposed to do in Tokyo, there will be two flags cheering for you,” Minister Griffith remarked.

The Cayman Islands delegation lauded Barbados for its hosting of Carifesta 15 as a wonderful event, that was well organised and full of hospitality. Their featured performances in music, dress and dance were presented on Wednesday night at the Grand Market at Waterford.

Minister Rankine led the seven member Cayman Islands delegation to the discussions which also included Chief Officer, Teresa Echenique,Senior Policy Adviser, Tamisia Barnes and Events Manager in the Ministry, Ventisha Conolly.

Barbados’ delegation to the talks was led by Minister Griffith and included Permanent Secretary, Mrs Joy Adamson, Director of Youth Affairs, Cleviston Hunte and Principal Youth Development Officer, Andrea Titus.