WILLEMSTAD - After five years of research into how Caribbean island communities respond to climate change, the results of the project Island(er)s at the Helm will be presented next week during a three-day conference at the University of Curaçao.

Launched in 2021 under the leadership of Francio Guadeloupe, the project brought together more than twenty researchers from six islands: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius.

The researchers examined how island residents—past and present—adapt to the challenges of climate change and how culture, heritage, education, and public policy influence those responses.

Three-Day End Conference

The so-called End Conference will take place on October 21, 22, and 23. Researchers, students, policymakers, artists, and community members are invited to join a diverse program featuring research presentations, workshops, and an excursion. Topics will range from water management and agricultural education to music, religion, architecture, and neurodiversity.

The organizers promise a dynamic and accessible event. Admission is free and includes lunch and a networking reception. Those unable to attend in person can follow the full program via the Facebook and YouTube channels of the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV).

With this conference, Island(er)s at the Helm concludes an intensive research period that has combined science and community engagement to develop new perspectives on climate resilience and sustainability across the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.