CARIFESTA XV Prepares Young Media Voices to Tell the Festival’s Stories

Roy Morris - Director of Citizen Engagement and Media Relations in the Prime Minister’s Office

Media veteran Roy Morris, who also lectures in the Communications programme at the Barbados Community College, is working with the Local Media Relations and Communications team to prepare a select group of young media enthusiasts for the rigours of covering the region’s premier cultural extravaganza.

Local Media Relations & Communications Coordinator, Jewel Forde, welcomed the start of the training. “This is part of the legacy of CARIFESTA XV – the upskilling of our youth, providing them with real-world experience after laying a solid foundation upon which to build,” she said.

The initial session focused on sensitisation and information sharing, with Morris challenging participants to think deeply about their audiences: “What do they want to know, and why? What will make your parents, your siblings, or someone like Ms. Pinder from St. Lucy want to read what you’ve written or pause to watch your video?”

The answers from the group revealed their instincts: share details about events, capture the experience, be relatable, and offer something of real value.

Morris’ response was simple and emphatic: “The answer is people. Everyone wants to be seen. Artists crave recognition – what is the value of your creation unless it is shared? The people interested in the arts also want recognition. If you see the people in what you’re covering, your job is halfway done.”

He urged the cohort to be curious, observant, and apply healthy scepticism to uncover the most compelling angles. “Ask questions. Always scan for specifics. Bypass accents and national boundaries – don’t think only Bajan, think Caribbean,” he advised.

As conduits between the Festival and the public, these young communicators will be tasked with creating stories, reels, and posts that resonate across the region, capturing the “close-to-home” feeling of CARIFESTA. The goal is to produce content that makes audiences stop, listen, and engage – bringing the heartbeat of the Festival to the people it celebrates.