Why CASA 2025 Matters: A Call to Register and Attend

Livingston Smith, PhD is the current President of the Caribbean Sociological Association( CASA).

From September 24–26, 2025, the University College of the Cayman Islands will host the Annual Conference of the Caribbean Sociological Association (CASA), bringing together scholars, practitioners, and community voices to explore how sociology can help chart a sustainable future for the region. The theme, “Mobilizing Caribbean Sociologies: Bridging Theory, Methods and Fields of Sociology for Caribbean Sustainable Development,” captures the ambition of this year’s gathering: to connect academic research with the pressing realities of Caribbean societies.

A Region in Focus

The Caribbean today faces challenges that are both urgent and deeply interconnected such as rising crime and insecurity, climate change and public health risks, persistent gender inequality, and the impact of global technological and economic shifts. CASA 2025 provides a platform where these issues discussed in as part of the broader social context that shapes people’s lives across the region.

A Remarkable Breadth of Topics

One of the most striking features of this year’s program is its sheer diversity. Presentations range from community-level studies to global policy critiques, and from traditional sociological inquiry to cutting-edge explorations of digital life and artificial intelligence.

• Crime and Social Justice: Scholars will examine crime in the Caribbean, its roots in inequality and exclusion, and its impact on economies, communities, and regional cooperation. Other presentations take on domestic violence fatalities in Trinidad and Tobago, rape and gender justice in Jamaica, and innovative approaches to rehabilitation and education behind bars.

• Migration and Identity: Papers shed light on the forces that push and pull Caribbean people across borders, from Guyanese migration patterns shaped by racial capitalism, to the friendships that sustain intra-Caribbean migrants, to life stories of migrants in Aruba and Curaçao.

• Gender, Family, and Community: Research will tackle issues such as the feminization of poverty, voluntary childlessness among Jamaican men, intra-gender dynamics in women’s leadership, and the enduring importance of family frameworks for young people leaving care in Barbados.

• Technology and the Digital Divide: From the use of artificial intelligence in higher education and business training, to the impact of cell phone and social media use among college students, to cleaning workers adapting to digital sanitation technologies, presenters will show how technology is reshaping work, education, and social life in the region.

• Health, Climate, and Inequality: Several papers place health at the center of sociological concern. These includethe cultural dimensions of suicide in Guyana, the vulnerabilities exposed by dengue fever outbreaks in Jamaica, or the racial disparities in access to clean water in Jamaica.

• Culture, sports and Identity: Scholars will revisit and reclaim Caribbean cultural expressions, from the evolution of street food in Trinidad to glossolalia in Pentecostal communities to Erna Brodber’s literary contributions to African epistemology. Sport, too, will be a major focus, with panels on football in Haiti, women’s boxing in Trinidad, boat racing in Martinique, and e-sports across the region.

Why This Matters for the Cayman Islands

Hosting CASA 2025 is an important milestone for the Cayman Islands. It signals the country’s growing role in regional intellectual life and its commitment to addressing issues that resonate far beyond its shores. For the University College of the Cayman Islands, the conference is an opportunity to showcase its leadership in fostering dialogue and research that are globally relevant but locally grounded.

The Cayman Islands face many of the same challenges highlighted in the conference—questions of crime and justice, the pressures of migration, the role of education in preparing young people for a digital economy, and the balance between economic growth and social equity. By bringing leading thinkers and practitioners to our shores, CASA 2025 offers Caymanian students, policymakers, educators, and community leaders the chance to learn from cutting-edge research while sharing their own experiences and perspectives.

It is also an opportunity to strengthen Cayman’s voice in shaping regional policy debates, to build networks with scholars and institutions across the Caribbean and beyond, and to affirm the Islands as not only a financial hub but also a hub of ideas, innovation, and intellectual exchange.

A Call to Action

In an era when the Caribbean faces mounting pressure such as economic, social, and environmental, it is events like CASA 2025 that remind us of the importance of evidence-based discussion, collective reflection, and regional solidarity. To mobilize Caribbean sociologies is to mobilize the intellectual and cultural resources we already have to build a more just and sustainable future.

The University College of the Cayman Islands invites all interested persons to join us September 24–26, 2025. Register, attend, and be part of the conversation. Together, we can ensure that Caribbean sociologies are not only studied, but mobilized, for the benefit of all.