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On Wednesday, November 4, 2026, Their Excellencies Christine Carla Kangaloo, ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and Kerwyn Garcia, SC, First Gentleman, attended the 40th Annual Divali Nagar on the sixth night of celebrations. Their Excellencies were first hosted to dinner by members of the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) Board of Directors before joining the evening's official proceedings on the main stage.The evening featured displays of talent, creativity and cultural expression as finalists took to the stage for the Trin India Youth Champ Competition and the Meena House Dance Competition. Her Excellency also delivered the feature address, speaking on this year's theme, โViveka โ Discerning Truth in the Age of AIโ.See below the full text of the address delivered by Her Excellency.๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐จ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐๐๐ ๐จ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ง๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐๐ซโ โ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ค๐โ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐โโ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐Sita Ram and good evening.It is always a joy to return to Divali Nagar. My husband and I look forward to this visit every year. Its fusion of religion, culture and tradition - and its welcome to people from every community - make it one of the great treasures of our national cultural calendar.For forty years, the National Council of Indian Culture has sustained this living expression of Indo-Trinbagonian heritage and shared it with the whole nation. I thank its leadership and volunteers, whose devotion carries that inheritance forward.This yearโs theme, โViveka - Discerning Truth in the Age of AI,โ joins ancient wisdom to one of the defining questions of our time: how are we to remain faithful to truth when artificial intelligence can create false words, false images and false voices that appear real?Viveka is the faculty of discernment: the union of intellect, conscience and wisdom by which we distinguish truth from falsehood and choose responsibly.That call is woven into Divali itself. The deya signifies knowledge dispelling ignorance, while Lord Ramaโs return to Ayodhya signifies dharma and truth overcoming deception and ego. The ancient Sanskrit prayer expresses the same longing: โLead me from the unreal to the real; lead me from darkness to light; lead me from death to immortality.โWhen it comes to Artificial Intelligence, I think it would do us well to recognize that humanity has been called to discern truth for far longer than there have been computers or algorithms. Our difficulty with truth did not begin with AI. We were wrestling with deception, prejudice and the abuse of power long before the first machine learned to imitate a human voice.The truth is that Artificial intelligence is not some self-originating, moral actor standing apart from us. It is we who design its systems, supply its data, set its objectives and decide how its products will be used. Even where a machine generates the output, human choices remain embedded in its creation and deployment.When it comes to AI, I think it would also do us well to recognize that AI is therefore not the enemy. It can advance medical research, improve education, assist persons with disabilities and help us solve problems of enormous complexity. We should neither fear it blindly nor embrace it uncritically, but govern and use it wisely.The machine did not invent the lie, prejudice or cruelty. What it can do is give old human failings unprecedented speed, scale and credibility. It can make untruth look authentic, and place an innocent personโs likeness or voice into words and actions that were never theirs. The truth is that AI does not create our brokenness; but it can magnify its consequences.I have experienced this personally. Fake social-media profiles and AI-generated videos purporting to feature me have circulated online. Last year, a gentleman came to the Office of the President intending to invest in a scheme which he believed that I had endorsed. His belief rested upon an AI-generated video. The video was false, but it was convincing enough to prompt a real financial decision.That experience brought home to me that discernment in the age of AI cannot be passive. Before we believe, react or share, we must ask where information came from, whether it can be confirmed independently, and whether our eagerness to believe it arises from evidence - or merely from its agreement with what we already wish to be true.Fabricated images and recordings are not the only obstacles to truth. Truth also becomes harder to discern when fear enters public life, when untested allegations acquire the appearance of fact, when rumour fills the place of reliable information, or when the tone of public discussion makes silence seem safer than honest disagreement.In such conditions, people do not cease to have opinions; they become reluctant to express them. Suspicion grows, trust recedes and misinformation finds fertile ground. A healthy democracy must permit difficult questions and respectful criticism, while requiring all of us to distinguish allegation from evidence and to speak truthfully, fairly and responsibly.Words, too, require discernment. In the age of AI, each of us can become not only a recipient of information, but its unwitting publisher and amplifier. Before forwarding or repeating, we should ask whether it is true, whether its context has been preserved and what consequences may follow once it travels beyond our control. The wider our reach, the greater our duty of care.A focus of my Presidency is young people. When it comes to AI and young people, I believe that our young people must learn not merely to operate intelligent machines, but to remain intellectually independent in their presence. AI can assist research and overcome barriers to learning; but an answer generated, is not necessarily an answer understood. Education in the age of AI must therefore cultivate curiosity, source-checking, ethical judgment and confidence in their own authentic voices.Beyond the nationโs youth, I believe that there is also a vital cultural task before us. AI can help preserve and share our records, oral histories, music, art and traditions. Yet systems trained mainly upon larger societies may misunderstand, flatten or omit the distinctive voice of a small and plural nation such as ours. Technology may preserve a recording; but only communities can preserve its meaning. That is why Divali Nagar matters in the age of AI. It is not culture summarized, but culture lived - in worship, performance, food, craft, voluntary service and the meeting of one generation with another.As Trinidad and Tobago embraces artificial intelligence, we must ensure that its benefits do not belong only to those with wealth, technical expertise or access to the best-resourced institutions. AI must serve human dignity, not reproduce old prejudices in new forms, and must remain transparent enough to be questioned, accountable enough to be corrected and inclusive enough to serve every community.Although Viveka comes to us from Hindu thought, its call to truth, wisdom and moral responsibility speaks across every faith and culture. In our multi-religious and multicultural society, our traditions are not obstacles to technological progress. They are among the moral resources by which progress can be kept human.The defining question is not simply whether machines will become more intelligent, but whether human beings will become more discerning. Will we use these extraordinary tools to enlarge knowledge and opportunity, or to manufacture deception and deepen exclusion? The answer will not be found in technology alone, but in the quality of our judgment and the courage with which we remain faithful to truth, and to the pursuit of โVivekaโ. Our challenge is to let artificial intelligence enlarge our capacities, but never replace our conscience; to let it assist our judgment, but never excuse us from exercising it.In the age of AI, may that ancient Sanskrit prayer continue to guide us: from the unreal to the real; from darkness to light; from ignorance to understanding. And may the light that we kindle in our deyas also kindle within us the wisdom to recognise truth, the courage to speak it responsibly, and the humanity to use it for the good of all.I thank the NCIC once again for the extraordinary gift that is Divali Nagar, and for inviting the nation to consider a theme so important to our time. In the age of AI, the lamp of Viveka must remain in human hands.I wish you and the entire nation a happy and holy Divali.Shubh Divali, and may God bless our nation.-END-
#AsItHappens Following dinner with members of the Board of the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) and invited guests, Their Excellencies Christine Carla Kangaloo, ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and Kerwyn Garcia, SC, First Gentleman, arrive at the main stage at Divali Nagar for this eveningโs highly anticipated programme.Tonight, the spotlight is on talent, creativity and cultural expression as the finalists take to the stage for the Trin India Youth Champ Competition and the Meena House Dance Competition.Itโs competition night at the Nagar!
#HappeningNowTheir Excellencies, Christine Carla Kangaloo, ORTT, President of the Republic, and Kerwyn Garcia, SC, First Gentleman, are greeted by NCIC President Dr. Surujdeo Mangaroo and First Vice President Professor Arvind Singh, along with their spouses, upon their arrival at Divali Nagar.
As Patron of the Trinidad and Tobago Orchid Society, Her Excellency Christine Carla Kangaloo, ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, joined in marking a special milestone at the Societyโs 70th Anniversary Exhibition on Saturday, October 31, 2026.From the stunning variety of blooms on display to the knowledge and passion of the orchid growers and enthusiasts who nurture them, the exhibition showcased seven decades of dedication to orchid cultivation in Trinidad and Tobago.๐ธ๐ธ For more photos: flic.kr/s/aHBqjDb7cZ
#AsithappensTheir Excellencies Christine Carla Kangaloo, ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and Kerwyn Garcia, SC, First Gentleman, arrive at the Naparima Bowl for โEchoes of Goldโ โ Celebrating 50 Years of Musical Excellence earlier this evening. The concert, presented by the Southernaires Choir, is being held held under the patronage of Her Excellency.