LocationsRemarks: Small Island Future Festival Opening Ceremony
June 20, 2025
UNDP Resident Representative, Limya Eltayeb, at the Opening Ceremony of the Small Island Future Festival in Barbados.
Remarks
Mrs. LIMYA ELTAYEB, UNDP Resident Representative
oPENING cEREMONY of the small island future festival
FRiday, 20 June 2025 at 10:00 AM | The University of the west indies Cave Hill Campus
- Her Excellency Dame Sandra Mason – President of Barbados
- Hon. Colin Jordan - Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector
- Mr. Steve Devonish - Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and National Beautification, Green and Blue Economy
- Mr. Simon Springett - UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean
- Representatives and staff of UNDP and other UN agencies
- Members of the Media
- Specially Invited Guests
Good morning!
I am extremely pleased to be here today not only to welcome you but to really launch and start the Small Island Future Festival here once again in its second iteration. So welcome!
This festival is intended to be a celebration of the dynamic blend of cultural showcases, youth-led initiatives, expert forums and solutions to the challenges that we all know and all face together. You represent the critical role of Small Island Developing States in advancing climate action, biodiversity preservation, sustainable development and in youth-led innovation. So I salute you.
You do that also showing a commitment to the renewed global and regional agenda - the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS – which was launched in Antigua, in the Caribbean that was launched in May 2024 – the ABAS. ABAS calls for urgent, transformative action to achieve resilient prosperity for all Small Island Developing States. And you represent that daily. You represent that daily in how you protect the climate; in your schools and homes when you turn off the water and the lights. You represent that daily for every activist that goes out into the community and raises awareness about these challenges, but more importantly – what we can do about them. The festival is not only a celebration of how far we have come, but a powerful expression of a commitment to shaping the future in a sustainable and fair manner together.
The ABAS not only strives for climate, people, prosperity and peace, but also strives for inclusive participation, for interagency collaboration and awareness-building. And that’s what we’re doing today here in this festival. We are tackling all these issues; we are raising awareness collectively, inviting all of community to come and view the future with us in the various booths and podiums. We are inviting all of society to learn from the best practices that you have put into action and that can be replicated. We are ensuring that it is truly inclusive; that everybody has a role to play and sees their role in society; that those far behind are put upfront and at the center to be the ones to activate change and to be the action-takers and innovators.
Today we are here showcasing the work of over 100 community organizations, entrepreneurs, innovators, artists, performers, designers, development partners, government agencies, activists and young leaders; ordinary people from all walks of life. Because this is what it’s going to take to change the path of our futures; this is what it’s going to take that these youth and students that I see in front of me – that they know what they need to do to make sure that they can keep their islands, they can keep the Caribbean and they can make sure it’s resilient both physically as islands but also in terms of economy and prosperity.
No better place for this to happen than Barbados, the country that is modelling the Blue and Green Economy – not just for the Caribbean and for SIDS, but for the world. I salute this beautiful island, its Government and its people and I’m honored that we are trusted partners for you as you do this.
SIFF is one of the flagship initiatives of the Small Grants Programme that is funded by the Global Environmental Facility and implemented by UNDP since 1994 in more than 125 countries. We are proud and we hope that we show impact. This year, we are implementing the SIFF event in collaboration with the Ashley Lashley Foundation – a fantastic partner.
I would like to congratulate all those behind this initiative, the creative minds whose passion for sustainable development is evident in the modern and innovative execution of this endeavor. I would also like to thank Ashley Lashley and her team, the SGP and UNDP team for all the effort that took place to make this happen and materialize. I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the many government, private sector and civil society partners that contributed directly and indirectly, tangibly and intangibly to make sure the vision of SIFF came to fruition. What you have produced here is remarkable and a clear representation of SDG 17 Partnership for Development. It’s showing partnerships in action – we are here together, we came to this point together, and we will move forward together.
President of Barbados, the Most Hon. Dame Sandra Mason; Minister of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector, Hon. Colin Jordan; GEF Small Grants Programme National Coordinator, Dr. David Bynoe; and UNDP Resident Representative Limya Eltayeb interacting with innovator Deandra Crawford at the Small Island Future Festival.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the year 2030 is upon us. The journey to Vision 2030 is long and requires our commitment, it requires that we have fortitude, it requires that we have innovation, and it requires that we work together. We cannot work in the old ways; we need new models of partnership and collaboration and it has to be a whole-of-society approach.
I hope that if there is one thing you walk away with at the end of these two days, it is that message – that you look at the person sitting next to you and you understand that we all need to work together, put our differences aside and put our hands in each other’s hands as we move forward.
SIFF demonstrates these synergies beautifully. It shows how private sector, public sector, civil society, multilateral organizations and international partners can come together to ensure that we forge a future together, we forge resilience together, and we leave no one behind.
UNDP believes this wholeheartedly. We believe that the SDGs are the framework for all action; we also believe that we need to cultivate strategic partnerships and galvanize political and financial resources for all of you to make sure that all of your tenacious endeavours as youth, as students, as innovators, as governments, see fruition and that we support it.
I personally also believe that in addressing the problems of SIDS and climate change that we can create a future where people and planet not only co-exist but thrive together, reinforce each other and thus ensure that we have prosperity and peace. That is the only way forward.
The Caribbean is a diverse landscape with clear determination to build nations resilient to climate change, and innovators on a global scale. Barbados is showcasing this innovation. We look at the invasive Sargassum and we see how innovators and youth like you have turned it into viable economic outputs like fertilizer, jewellery and plastic alternatives. We also see how the Government is forging a new strategic direction in the blue, green and orange economies and this Festival represents that – bringing these all together.
We are committed to this in UNDP because it will ensure the resilience of Barbados and the whole Caribbean. We hope that you will see sustainable island living in this Festival; that you will see opportunities to raise awareness and galvanize new partnerships and that you will use every opportunity to leave no one behind; encourage everyone to be here with us in this Festival and to join in the future that we want to forge together.
Thank you.
The year 2030 is upon us. The journey to Vision 2030 is long and requires our commitment, it requires that we have fortitude, it requires that we have innovation, and it requires that we work together. We cannot work in the old ways; we need new models of partnership and collaboration and it has to be a whole-of-society approach.Limya Eltayeb, UNDP Resident Representative
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