Protection, Politics & Public Policy: The Need for Transdisciplinary Approaches to Migration -UNICEF

Keynote Speech at the UWI International Conference on Migrants and Refugees in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, by Alma Jenkins Acosta. Please note, this video is AUDIO ONLY. 📍The University of the West Indies, St Augustine | 8–10 December 2025 Listen now to the opening welcome remarks, led by Alma Jenkins Acosta, Coordinator of the Response to Children in Situations of Mobility for UNICEF.in Trinidad and Tobago. The conference brought together scholars, policymakers, community practitioners, and creative voices to examine one of the most pressing realities of our time: migration, displacement, and belonging in Latin America and the Caribbean. As an increasingly important receiving state, Trinidad and Tobago offered a critical vantage point from which to explore the geopolitical tensions, economic inequalities, linguistic diversity, legal precarity, and cultural negotiation that shape contemporary migration in the region — while the wider Caribbean's histories of forced movement, mobility, and resistance remained central to how today's migration crises are experienced, narrated, and addressed. Across three days, presentations and discussions foregrounded Caribbean epistemologies, regional solidarities, and contextually grounded policy responses, with particular attention to the synergies between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the EU-LAC network. Key themes explored included: Language, power, and pedagogy in transnational migration contexts Child-centred education access for migrant communities Legal frameworks, state responses, and multilateral governance Migrant economies and labour in a globalised world Lived experiences, narratives, and representation Borders, bureaucracy, and belonging Community engagement and civil society interventions To learn more about the conference, see here: https://sta.uwi.edu/news/releases/rel... 📍 About The University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (The UWI) is the Caribbean’s premier, higher education institution. One of only two regional universities in the world, it comprises five campuses across the English-speaking Caribbean and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. The UWI has been consistently ranked among the best in the world by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). To learn more about the EULAS Network, and keep up to date with other events we have across the world, head to: https://www.eulas.network/ #migration #caribbean #celac #eulac #trinidadandtobago #UWI #refugees #latinamerica