Come March 25 and 26, more than 100 of the region’s emerging leaders will convene for Caribbean Youth Dialogues 2026 (CYD26), bringing urgency, perspective, and solutions to a conversation that can no longer be delayed.

Five Years Left: A Region at a Crossroads

With just five years remaining to achieve the 2030 Agenda, the Caribbean finds itself at a decisive moment. The region continues to face compounding challenges: climate vulnerability, uneven access to basic services, infrastructure gaps, and persistent inequality. For young people, these are not abstract policy issues, they are lived realities shaping opportunity, security, and future prospects.

Caribbean Youth Dialogues 2026 is anchored in this urgency. Under the theme “Five more years… let’s talk about it,” this year’s dialogue moves beyond awareness to accountability, creating space for youth to interrogate progress, identify gaps, and push for practical, scalable solutions.

ECLAC Caribbean Director Miosotis Rivas Peña has a positive Outlook on the potential impact that young people in the Caribbean can have on the development agenda. “The energy, clarity, and commitment of Caribbean youth give us confidence that progress is still within reach. What is needed now is urgency, partnership, and the willingness to act on the ideas emerging from spaces like the Caribbean Youth Dialogues”. 

“Five years is not a long time in development terms, but it is enough time to make meaningful change if we act decisively. Caribbean youth are not waiting on the sidelines, they are defining priorities, challenging systems, and helping to drive the solutions our region needs now,”

In reels posted to Instagram, some of the attendees and youth organizers of CYD26 have been dramatically asking some of the questions that are most relevant to Caribbean development challenges. In spoken word styled-delivery, Anguillan Albert Peters (Bushe da Plug) exclaims, “Blackout! Poles, lines, wind waves… sun energy… cheaper, cleaner energy, we cookin’ with gas? Five more years to fix it, let’s talk about it.” Not to be outdone, in her video, Brianna Walcott of Turks and Caicos brings up issues related to SDG11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities. “Flooding,., squatting, the housing crisis, uptown… downtown. Community engagement… Five more years to fix it, let’s talk about it.”

Esquire Henry, a seasoned youth activist in Antigua and Barbuda notes some of the standout challenges to Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG6) in the Caribbean. “Water is life, quenching thirst, poor supply, dry and thirsty, ring worm, dutty water! Safe drinking water for all. Five more years to fix it, let’s talk about it.”

Focused Conversations on Critical Goals

Over two evenings of structured dialogue, participants will engage directly with five Sustainable Development Goals central to the Caribbean context:

-SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation 

-SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy 

-SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure 

-SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 

-SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals 

Each session is framed through a forward-looking lens — “five more for…”, challenging participants to consider what must be done now to accelerate to meet 2030 targets.

Agenda 

Wednesday 25 March

-Opening Remarks 

-5 more for clean water and hygiene (SDG 6) 

-5 more for sustainable energy (SDG 7) 

Thursday 26 March

-Opening Remarks 

-5 more for island innovation (SDG 9) 

-5 more for strong community (SDG 11) 

-Key conclusions and closing

Register for CYD26 now!