Barbados invites diaspora to year-long party

Barbados is set for the greatest homecoming celebration in the history of the Caribbean this year.

All Barbadians by birth, descent and choice are invited to a year-long get-together, so they can rediscover their roots, enjoy the best of what the island has to offer and build a deeper connection with Barbados.

The ground-breaking initiative, We Gatherin’, started early January and throughout the year will feature a host of events to mark this momentous homecoming festival for the Barbadian diaspora across the world.

Prime Minister Mia Motley has issued a personal invitation to people across the world with Bajan roots, to their families, friends, and to regular visitors who simply love the Bajan spirit, asking them to return, reconnect and reaffirm their affinity with the island’s people and values as part of her government’s Vision 2020 initiative.

Barbados shares a particular and historic relationship with the UK, which is evident in its Anglophone place names, its red post boxes in Bridgetown, and the portrait of The Queen which greets visitors at Grantley-Adams airport. In the Caribbean diaspora of the twentieth century, hundreds of thousands of emigrants left Barbados to help rebuild post-war Britain and their families have played an important role in the fabric of modern British life since.

Famous Brits of Bajan descent include former England international footballer Ashley Cole; veteran newsreader Moira Stuart; poet Benjamin Zephaniah; boxer Nigel Benn; and singers Des’ree and Shaznay Lewis of pop band All Saints.