Grenadian National Tops CARIFESTA Youth Project

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – A 19-year-old Grenadian national has emerged as the winner in the multi-media category of the inaugural “Echoes of Us – Our Voice. Our Vibe” creative competition among young people that took place at the 15th edition of the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA XV) held here last August.

Nineteen year old Grenadian Naomi Allard secured first place with her piece entitled “Caribbean-ness” in the Multimedia category of the Echoes of Us – Our Voice. Our Vibe competition. (GP)A statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister noted that there had been a strong regional response to the Youth Legacy Competition that had been developed as a direct extension of region’s premier arts festival and building on the energy of the first-ever Student Jamboree.

The statement said that the competition created a platform for young people to move from participation to production, generating original stories, music, and visual work that now form part of the region’s growing cultural archive.

It attracted entries from 17 countries, with just under 200 registrations and more than 100 completed submissions from participants under the age of 21, signalling both the reach of the festival and the depth of emerging creative talent across the Caribbean.

In the Multimedia category, 19-year-old Grenadian Naomi Allard secured first place with her piece entitled “Caribbean-ness” while Trinidad and Tobago’s Daniel Watson placed second, with Barbadian Kyla Halliday taking the third spot.

In Literary Arts, Barbados’ Serena Archer won with The Drumbeat Named Me, followed by Jamaica’s Raiann Martin and St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Xania Archibald. In Songwriting, Akili Francis of the Turks and Caicos Islands took top honours with Roots and Rhythm, with Jamaica’s Nathaniel Harris second and Trinidad and Tobago’s Nathan Kelly third with Tourist Tastes.

Multimedia judge Amanda Lynch-Foster described the winning piece as “striking… vibrant, but layered with deeper undertones that reflect both the energy and the history of the Caribbean.”

For Allard, the experience represents a meaningful step forward.

“Winning this competition is more than a victory, it’s an opportunity to grow, to share my work, and to represent the Caribbean,” she said.

Legacy Project Coordinator Kim C. Butcher said that the competition demonstrates how festival legacy can be translated into real outcomes.

“CARIFESTA gave these young people a stage through the Student Jamboree. Echoes of Us gave them a platform to create. What we now have is original Caribbean content, stories, songs and visual work,  that didn’t exist before, and that is now part of our cultural record.

“With over 100 completed submissions across 17 countries, this is not just participation, this is production. The orange economy is alive and well, and this is what investment in youth creativity looks like,”  Butcher added.

The statement said that by extending the life of CARIFESTA beyond its August staging, Echoes of Us reinforces the role of festivals not only as moments of celebration, but as catalysts for creative output, opportunity, and regional connection.

Winners will be formally recognised at an upcoming awards ceremony, where prizes will be presented to first, second, and third place recipients across all categories.

“As the Caribbean looks ahead to CARIFESTA 2027, the programme offers a clear model for how legacy can be built through intentional investment in youth, the creation of new cultural work, and the continuous expansion of the region’s creative archive,”  the statement added.