The Caribbean has always been in motion from the Neolithic Revolution, to white bonded labor, The Encomienda System, Colonialism ( Chattel Slavery, Indentureship) and eventually Independence.  As a result, the Caribbean we see today is reflection of its history and the movement of people from different geographic locations whether by choice or force  bringing with them their language, religion, history, cultural differences, education etc. Due to this amalgamation we can see a region that is rich in; culture ( food, music, festivals, religions), various practices and linguistics local to the region and common history of migration and exploitation.

 This great coming together has also brought with it many difficulties we faced as a region and  continue to face,  problems with race, class, religious, ethnic and economic conflicts.  These conflicts  from times past are very much evident today in the Caribbean and efforts at building common friendship among islands (Caribbean Integration)  and a Caribbean identity is still very much needed.

 We as a people need to know who we are individually and collectively before we can fully enter into the “global village” consciously and bring with us our unique contribution, or else we will not remember our narrative correctly; what makes this region unique. Our history is made of peoples from many geographic locations both local and outside of the region, who brought with them their culture, language, religion, education, race, politics, class etc and it all amalgamated here for better or worse. Identity as a region has been very elusive due to the diaspora that makes up what we know as the Caribbean.

 However despite our many differences we have already formed one major vehicle that has been a mechanism for Caribbean integration and by at large Caribbean Development in recent years, known as CARICOM. It was established in July, 1973 and  comprises of 15 member states and five associate members. The vision of CARICOM  is “ a Caribbean Community that is integrated, inclusive and resilient; driven by knowledge, excellence, innovation and productivity; a Community where every citizen is secure and has the opportunity to realise his or her potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice; and contributes to, and shares in, its economic, social and cultural prosperity ; a Community which is a unified and competitive force in the global arena.” Since the formation of Caricom until now it has and continues to put in place other caribbean organisations/ institutions to help foster caribbean integration and development by providing direct technical help to members in a variety of areas , some of these areas are: Agriculture (CARDI - Caribbean Agricultural Development Institute and CAHFSA - Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency), Justice ( CCJ - Caribbean Court of Justice), Education (Caribbean Examination Council), Environment (CCCCC - Caribbean Community Climate Change Center), Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, Caribbean Development Bank, School ( UWI - University of the West Indies),  just to name a few. Their scope also reaches into the promotion of Caribbean culture, through education and celebration of the different cultures among this multicultural and ethnic  diaspora via an event called CARIFESTA, here artists, musicians, authors are gathered to display folkloric and artistic expressions of the Caribbean and Latin America. 

As the saying goes “united we stand, divided we fall” individually we are all small islands and some might just say “insignificant” in the grand scheme of things, but united we bring with us a force and a voice that I would dare say cannot be easily ignored in the global arena. According to the World bank, “Caribbean countries would benefit more from regional integration” for example according to them, “deeper regional integration would allow cost sharing and risk pooling would promote stable growth - meaning that because small economies usually lack the funds to make large investments.  Investing in shared public services, like regional transportation infrastructure, would allow cost pooling and improve connectivity in the region. The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility is an example of effective and attractive risk pooling mechanism able to mobilize emergency funds within the first two weeks of a disaster.” Also in an article about Regional Integration in the Caribbean, and it’s importance to caribbean development (Mr. Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund) stated, “Regional collaboration and integration will also help overcome the limitations and vulnerabilities inherent in the relatively small size of individual economies. Continued progress toward a common Caribbean market will allow small economies to pool their resources and provide local firms with access to larger markets—a key foundation for boosting efficiency and sustaining dynamic growth. Experience elsewhere shows that regional integration also strengthens the ability of countries to cope with negative shocks. This is a particularly relevant benefit for the Caribbean region where, as you know, the impact of shocks can be devastating for any single economy.”

Another way we can promote caribbean integration and therefore  strengthen development is through socialization on a local level through institutions such as the family, school and even church.  Through these institutions we can teach the next generation the norms (specific guides to actions which define acceptable and appropriate behaviour) and values ( more general guidelines and are defined as a belief that something is good and desirable). This all contributes to culture; a whole way of life found in a particular society, it is something that is learned through socialization and shared by members of a society (Michael Haralambos, Martin Holborn). Culture comprises of festivals ( carnival), music ( calypso), sports (cricket) and other art forms, according to (John Campbell), “ caribbean culture and cultural expression are transmissible and always evolving.” “What we recognise as culture in the caribbean today is based on our collective history  of colonialism, slavery and migration”( Caribbean Cultural Expression,Unit 8). If  effective socialization takes place it will help with integration on a national level and regional level, we would not as a region have to fear stepping consciously into the sphere  of the global market because our “roots would run deep,” and our people would carry within themselves a sense of what it means to be “caribbean.”

Globalization “is the word used to describe the growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and information. Countries have built economic partnerships to facilitate these movements over many centuries” (Peterson Institute for International Economics). As the  Caribbean region we also need to aspire to be citizens of the global village, partly because this is the direction the world is moving and has been over a number of years, also even though we are a region we are not an entity unto ourselves. we a part of a whole “the globe,” so what happens in other parts of the globe can affect and have in the past either directly(economics) or indirectly( music, movies, media).We cannot decided to take part  in some aspects of globalization and reap the benefits, while trying to avoid other aspects. The effects of globalization are both positive and negative on all members of the globe. But what we can do as a region is by consciously engaging in the global village, we can put in policies and legislation to protect the region from possible foreseeable negative effects.

Globalization is driven by advancements in technology ( telecommunications, world wide web), transportation (ships, planes) and cooperation among nations around the world ( trade agreements, treaties) and this has been going on for decades even before the Europeans made their way into the Caribbean, their  purpose at that time was to Bullionism (gold), Colonialism (political control, power) and Mercantilism (trade, triangular trade) and in today’s global market it is very much the same it just looks different. But in the times past it came “upon” us, our history as a caribbean people, our multicultural and ethnic diaspora was as a result of this movement but today we don’t have to be the “victims” anymore we can choose to consciously engage, the fact is we have already began. The access we have to shop world wide from the comforts of our home, the clothes, shoes, jewellery, make-up,movies, cable-tv, music, technology, books, knowledge we possess, ability to travel across the globe, the ability to communicate (audio, video) with loved ones in various geographic location,  all these little pleases are a result of globalization. Even the ability to appreciate different cultures and cultural practices and talk part in these different practices for example carnival, people from all over the globe come to trinidad to take part in carnival which intern affects the economy and yes many have said that the pure expression of carnival has been diluted as a result of this international movement and can be seen in the costume design ,“less is more” so to speak, but at the same time it is up to us to socialize the generations to follow through education about the true history of carnival so that is can be perpetuated through the generations even as the culture continues to evolve.

On the other hand globalization can and has caused more inequalities among countries, between the developed countries and developing countries,  it has widen the gap economically, because the developed countries have the resources to take advantage of globalization to its fullest potential whether good or bad, where as the developing countries don’t have to the same resources and therefore as in the case of the caribbean region we need to integrate to be equipped to face the global market effectively. Aslo it increases the gap in inequality within nations between those who have access to the resources and those who do not have to resources to tap into the global market.

In the course this past semester it was presented  that much of “who we are” as a region has come from our history of migration and exploitation (chattel slavery, colonialism, indentureship and the fight for independence). We have tried in times past to take initiative individually through various revolts and revolutions some have been successful and others not, an example of one such revolution is the Haitian Revolution, it was successful to an extent but has never recovered economically as a nation to this day. I see the way forward  into the future as a Caribbean Region is integration which will foster Caribbean development  and strengthen our presence in the global village.