Welcome to issue 16 of The Citizen!

Welcome to issue 16 of The Citizen!

As the main economic engine in Antigua today, tourism is on the up, with the cruise industry playing an increasingly important role in the sector. Our cover story in this issue delves into the growth and popularity of cruising in the twin islands, how significant upgrades to the cruise port have concreted Antigua’s position in the industry, and why visitors fall in love with the destination at first sight.

Claudette Peters is known as the Soca Diva, but her legacy goes so much further as she is determined to put Antigua & Barbuda’s culture firmly on the map around the globe. She talks to us about her background and plans to preserve culture for future generations.

Charlie Mind is another woman on a mission. She founded Calypso Kids TV to give a local and regional perspective to children unaccustomed to seeing the Caribbean on screen. In her interview, she expresses her deep pride in her heritage and her unwavering commitment to passing it on to the younger generation.

And if we’re talking about strong Antiguan women, we can’t not talk about the Antigua Island Girls, the fabulous foursome who broke records by crossing the Atlantic in the 2019 Talisker Atlantic Challenge, AKA the World’s Toughest Row. The team are at it again. This time they will be crossing the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii in the epic, inaugural World’s Toughest Row - Pacific in June.

In today’s busy world, we often only have time to see the big picture, and we miss the little wonders of our planet. Photographer Colin Banks’ incredible microphotography showcases the tiny miracles happening in nature all around us.

Talking about small things, our conservation piece – the first of two articles - looks at the incredible bee whose importance belies its tiny size. Our article looks at how these humble creatures play a crucial role in human survival and their profound impact on the planet.

Our survival is also dependent on water. And as parts of the world experience water scarcity and increasing droughts, Beyond Water’s groundbreaking atmospheric generation technology represents the future, as it extracts pure water from air with a simple machine, even off-grid. We examine how governments, hotels, farmers and households can fulfil any water need using their technology.

Featured artist Nick Hadeed’s paintings range from abstract expressionism to realism, capturing the atmosphere and mood of the island. He shares some of his beautiful pieces with us.

Once again, experts and thought leaders give us their insights into the changing citizenship by investment industry in our Thought Leadership and Opinion articles.

On behalf of The Citizen team, we want to thank every one of our contributors and readers. Happy reading!