Virtual Language Festival 2020

The SCL held a Virtual Festival Celebrating Caribbean languages from 6-7 August 2020. The event was held in lieu of the 2020 Biennial Conference, cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Festival featured performances and presentations from among the SCL membership. The Festival was live streamed on the SCL Facebook page and the recordings are available for viewing on our YouTube channel.

Read Participant Bios
View Festival Flyers

Promo video
 

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PROGRAMME

DAY I: THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2020 View Video

SESSION I - PLENARIES 12:00 P.M. - 2:00 P.M. (EST, GMT-3 AST Port-of-Spain)
Welcome - President, Dr. Jo-Anne Ferreira
Introduction of Guest Presenters - President, SCL
Introduction of Presentation Format - Moderator, Dr. Clive Forrester, Secretary, SCL

Plenary I: "Field research and the formation of a linguist: a personal reflection"
Professor Emeritus Peter A Roberts
Discussant: Dr. Daidrah Smith-Telfer

Plenary II: "Current Challenges for Caribbean Creole Lexicography"
Professor Emerita Lise Winer
Discussant: Dr. Joseph Farquharson
Q&A from Public - Moderator

SESSION II - POETRY TIME 6:00 P.M. - 7:30 P.M. (EST, GMT-3 AST Port-of-Spain)
Aubrey McWatt (Guyana)
Aubrey McWatt was born in Georgetown, British Guiana. He is of European, Native American, African and Lebanese descent, is multilingual and has lived and worked in seven countries on three continents. Read full profile.

Dr. Travis Weekes (St. Lucia)
Dr. Travis Weekes is an award winning Saint Lucian actor, poet, playwright, director and cultural critic. Read full profile.

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DAY 2: FRIDAY, 7 AUGUST 2020 View Video

SESSION III  - COMMUNITY PANELS

12:00 P.M. - 2:00 P.M. (EST, GMT-3 AST Port-of-Spain)
Interview: COVID-19 PSA Project in the Ten Guyana Languages
Interview by Professor Hubert Devonish with Charlene Wilkinson, Dr. Tamirand De Lisser and Ovid Williams

Panel Discussion: Talking about Our Languages: Creole Speakers from the Caribbean
Moderator: Mr. René Zúñiga Argüello
Panelists:
Ronald Francis, PhD candidate and TA, The University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago - Kwéyòl/St. Lucian French Creole
Gloria Thompson Davis, Teacher and Author, Limón, Costa Rica - Limón Kryol/Limonese Creole
Josephine deWindt, Bachelor's student, University of Curaçao, Aruba - Papiamento/u
Silvano Hodgson, PhD candidate, Universidad Internacionale Iberoamericana; Director, IPILC, Nicaragua - Rami Ki Kreole/Rama Cay Creole

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