Barbados Government Officially Endorses Afro-Creole Languages Week
Afro-Creole Languages Week has received official endorsement from The Honourable Trevor A. Prescod, Minister with responsibility for Pan-African Affairs and Heritage, Government of Barbados, marking a major milestone ahead of the inaugural global celebration from 1–8 September 2026.
The endorsement recognises the importance of Afro-Creole languages in preserving African heritage, identity, collective memory and cultural knowledge across generations.
Minister Prescod gave his full support to the initiative and its mission to advance linguistic justice, stating:
“Afro-Creole Languages Week and its mission to advance language justice have the full endorsement and support of my office. Accessing and preserving our linguistic heritage is a fundamental right.”
Founded by barrister, international legal advocate and United Nations Fellow Ifẹ́ Thompson, Afro-Creole Languages Week is building an international movement to challenge the historic marginalisation of Afro-Creole languages and strengthen their recognition across education, policy and public life.
For generations, languages created and sustained by African-descended communities have survived enslavement, colonialism, suppression and institutional discrimination. Today, they continue to connect communities across Africa, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, the Americas and the wider Black diaspora.
Barbados' endorsement sends a powerful message: our languages are not relics of the past. They are languages of the present—and voices of the future.
The endorsement comes as communities worldwide prepare for the 2026 theme, The Future Speaks Afro-Creole, calling for Afro-Creole languages to be celebrated, protected and passed confidently to future generations.
