The Barbuda Youth Council has praised its weekend collaboration with the Hopeful Hearts Foundation as a powerful demonstration of inter-island unity, recapping three days of community art, youth entrepreneurship, and mentorship that brought young leaders from both islands together on Barbudan soil.
Day One: A Mural and a Conversation
The partnership kicked off on July 3 with the team getting straight to work on a mural project at the Holy Trinity Primary School, following the creative vision of Chaneil Imhoff of the WISH Foundation. Together, the group curated what the Barbuda Youth Council described as a "wonderful mural" facing the east side of the school — a lasting visual contribution to the school's campus.
That evening, the Barbuda Youth Councilors were treated to dinner at Uncle Roddy's restaurant, where they had the opportunity to dialogue and interact directly with Hopeful Hearts Foundation Youth Ambassador and CEO Kristine Louisa and her team in a more informal setting — building the kind of personal connections that formal programmes alone cannot create.
Day Two: Young Entrepreneurs Take the Stage
On July 4, the collaboration continued as both groups supported the Antigua and Barbuda Youth Entrepreneurship Trade Show, where several Barbuda Youth Councilors had their own businesses on display alongside other young entrepreneurs. The Barbuda Youth Council described the experience as a vivid reminder that "entrepreneurship doesn't have an age."
The Trade Show formed part of the wider Barbudan GO New Gen Innovators programme, which had concluded the previous week with secondary school students pitching business concepts to a panel of resident entrepreneurs. Seeing those young entrepreneurs now showcasing their ideas to the public — alongside Youth Councillors running their own ventures — brought the week's themes of enterprise and youth empowerment full circle.
