Organisers are once again preparing to celebrate two of the island’s most distinguished sons as planning intensifies for the 2026 Nobel Laureate Celebrations, honoring the enduring legacies of economist Sir Arthur Lewis and poet Sir Derek Walcott.
The annual observance, coordinated by the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College Nobel Laureate Week Planning Committee, will feature a series of public events designed to highlight excellence across academia, culture, agriculture, and the creative industries.
Chair of the Planning Committee, Tracy Pilgrim-George, outlined the slate of activities, noting that the celebrations will begin with the Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Lecture on January 22 at the Finance Administrative Centre.
“This year we have four activities. The first one will take place on the 22nd of January at the Finance Administrative Centre, and that activity is called the Sir Arthur Lewis Memorial Lecture,” Pilgrim-George said. “This year we have Professor Sir Tim Besley from the UK, and he is one of the world’s renowned economists.”
She added that the lecture is open to the public and will also be accessible online. “It starts at about 7.30 in the evening and usually lasts until about 9 o’clock. It is also live streamed,” she explained.
Another key event will be the annual wreath-laying ceremony, which pays tribute to Saint Lucia’s two Nobel Laureates.
“Our second activity that we’re putting on, and we put this on every year, is the wreath-laying ceremony, and that will be taking place on campus at 10 o’clock in the morning,” Pilgrim-George noted. “At this event, we invite family members of the Nobel Laureates to come and we also invite members of the diplomatic corps, the government, et cetera.”
She said the ceremony also showcases student talent. “It is an activity where we also have our students who perform in theatre arts or literature to pay homage to Sir Arthur Lewis and Sir Derek Walcott, and we lay wreaths on their tombstones,” she said.
A signature event returning for its second year is Writers in the Spotlight, which will run from morning to evening and place local and regional authors at center stage.
“This is a very special activity in its second year where we start at nine in the morning until about six o’clock at night,” Pilgrim-George explained. “Writers in the Spotlight gives local authors an opportunity to showcase their work.”
She revealed strong interest in the event. “This year we have about 43 authors who have registered. We’re talking about authors from secondary school authors who are on campus, international authors are actually coming in,” she said, adding that schools across the island and the general public are being invited to attend.
The final activity will be held in collaboration with Helen’s Daughters at the FarmHERS Market.
“Our final event is with Helen’s Daughters, and there we get to highlight our farm and the produce that the college farm produces,” Pilgrim-George stated. “We’re very proud to be a partner with them because they give actually two scholarships to two agriculture student, female agriculture students every single year.”
She noted that this will be the second year the college participates in the market. “It is the last Saturday of the month in January at the Aquatics Center,” she said.
Pilgrim-George emphasized that the Nobel Laureate Celebrations are meant to be inclusive and accessible to all Saint Lucians.
“The celebrations are not just for us as a college or for persons who think that it is just an activity that is for persons who are in academia,” she stressed. “The Nobel Laureates highlight for us that Saint Lucia in general is a land that continues to produce excellent work.”
She added that the programme reflects excellence across multiple fields. “We always try to highlight excellence in a variety of areas, so we will see excellence displayed in sports, in agriculture, in the creative industries, et cetera,” Pilgrim-George said.
Describing the celebrations as a national observance, she encouraged broad participation. “It is for all of Saint Lucia, and so we are inviting everyone to come out and to support all the events that are going to happen for Nobel Laureate 2026,” she said.
Pilgrim-George also noted that the official launch of the celebrations is scheduled for the first week of January. “Look out for that so that you are in the know with all the activities that are going to be happening throughout Saint Lucia,” she added.