NGC BOCAS YOUTH FEST is a celebration of literary arts and youth in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean region.
In 2021 NGC and the Bocas Lit Fest (BLF) made history by producing Trinidad and Tobago’s first literary festival for youth.The festival was founded with the aim to make literature relevant, appealing and accessible to young people ages 13-25. The inaugural festival took place via livestream on August 19th 2021 and featured 19 participants across 8 events. To date, the festival has garnered 11,700 organic views on Bocas’ Facebook page, which is the highest total view count for any Bocas livestream festival.
The 2022 NGC Bocas Youth Fest will be even more impactful as Bocas looks forward to hosting the first ever one day celebration in person with young creatives in Trinidad and Tobago!
The free event targets young people ages 12- 25 and will be held at the home of the Bocas Lit Fest, The Writers’ Centre in Port of Spain from 11am – 11pm. The day promises to be packed with fun events that will explore creativity, performance and writing.
This year, programme highlights include Writing my Career, where a cross-section of creatives who use words and stories in their diverse fields, will share advice and insights on using literary skills for personal and professional development; New Forms, which dives into a wide range of creative fields, from TV and movies to comic books and video games to blogging and journalism; Sign Me Up!, a creative sign-making workshop with master Trinidadian sign artist Bruce Cayonne; and ClickBait!, where attendees can learn the art of writing for social media and websites with the 2021 NGC Bocas Youth Writer of the Year award winner Harmony Farrell.
The full-day event which aims to elevate new young voices, will also feature the Big Idea Debate – a Youth Fest favourite – which will be accessible online and is expected to attract viewership from youths across the Caribbean; and Stand and Deliver, an open mic event in partnership with the We Love Network.
The evening will culminate in an Afterparty Backyard Lime, inclusive of creative performances, music, and other interactive networking activities.
NGC is the title sponsor of Trinidad and Tobago’s annual literary festival and the NGC Youth Fest, which was founded with the aim to make literature relevant, appealing and accessible to young people, nationwide.
