The National Awards Ceremony 2026

Sep 24, 2026

The National Awards Ceremony 2026

On Republic Day, Thursday, September 24, 2026, Her Excellency Christine Carla Kangaloo, O.R.T.T., President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, hosted the 57th National Awards Ceremony at the Winifred Atwell Auditorium, Queen’s Hall.

Held in the 50th year of Trinidad and Tobago becoming a Republic, the ceremony was attended by the 2026 National Awardees, past recipients of the Trinity Cross and Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, distinguished guests and members of the national community.

The programme featured a stirring rendition of the National Anthem by young pannist Daniel Gulston of the Down Syndrome Family Network, a vibrant presentation by the Khalnayak Academy of Dance, and a moving performance of “The Impossible Dream” by LeAndra.

At the ceremony, national awards were conferred on the following distinguished people:

ORDER OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

The Honourable Chief Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh

Senator the Honourable Wade Stephen Mark

Dr. Surujrattan Rambachan

THE CHACONIA MEDAL GOLD

Dr. Paul Elias Alexander

Mr. Joseph Toney

Mrs. Keshmani Dhaniram-Gosine

Dr. Maukesh Basdeo

Justice Allan Mendonça (Retired)

Haji Churchill Azad Akaloo (Posthumous)

THE CHACONIA MEDAL SILVER

Ms. Omatie Lyder

Ms. Ria Taitt

Ms. Andrea De Silva

Mr. Jai Parasram

THE HUMMINGBIRD MEDAL GOLD

Mr. Shamsudeen Ayube (Hunters Search and Rescue Team)

Mr. Vallence Rambharat (Hunters Search and Rescue Team)

Ganesh Utsav Foundation

Chinmaya Mission

Mr. Rakesh Yankarran

Mr. Shamshad Ali

Mr. Sadhruddin “Sadro” Mohammed (Posthumous)

Mr. Emamool “Mamoo” Deen (Posthumous)

Mr. Sylbert Robley

Dr. Winston Mansingh

THE HUMMINGBIRD MEDAL SILVER

Mr. Rawle Raphael

THE HUMMINGBIRD MEDAL BRONZE

Mr. Junior Bisnath

Mr. Fyzool Awardy

Bishop Marjorie Anderson

THE PUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL OF MERIT GOLD

Mr. Ian Macintyre, SC

Mr. Raymond Surujbally

Master Ralph Doyle

Mr. Leonard Bradshaw

Trinidad and Tobago Cadet Force

THE MEDAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN GOLD

Mrs. Deborah Moore-Miggins

Mrs. Rudrawatee Nan Gosine-Ramgoolam

Ms. Destra Garcia

See more photos from the event in the album below:

2026-09-24 National Awards

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#ICYMI Her Excellency Christine Carla Kangaloo, ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago delivered the feature address at the 2026 Installation of the Poet Laureate of Trinidad and Tobago, held at the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS), yesterday, Thursday 15 October 2026, National Poetry Day.In her address, Her Excellency highlighted the importance of poetry in preserving Trinidad and Tobago’s cultural heritage, giving voice to diverse experiences and encouraging honest public discourse. Her Excellency paid tribute to outgoing Poet Laureate, Mr. Paul Keens-Douglas, who was also present, and reflected on the responsibilities of poets in a democratic society, including the need to protect authentic creative expression in an era of artificial intelligence.Following the President’s address, Ms Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné was announced as the 2026 Poet Laureate of Trinidad and Tobago and was presented with the award by Her Excellency.The Poet Laureate of Trinidad and Tobago Programme is a national initiative dedicated to recognising literary excellence, celebrating our nation’s rich oral traditions and promoting engagement with poetry through public readings, workshops and community outreach. Relaunched in September 2026 under the patronage of President Kangaloo, the programme is a collaboration between the Circle of Poets of Trinidad and Tobago and the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS). 🔗📸: flic.kr/s/aHBqjD7Jus𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐨, 𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐓, 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰:Good evening.It is a privilege to join you on National Poetry Day and to serve as Patron of the Poet Laureate of Trinidad and Tobago Programme. I congratulate the Circle of Poets of Trinidad and Tobago and NALIS on reviving this office in our national life. Its importance will be measured not by ceremony alone, but by the extent to which it carries poetry into our classrooms, communities and public conversation.In Trinidad and Tobago, poetry has never lived only on the printed page. We hear it in the calypso tent and the panyard; in churches, temples and masjids; in schoolyards, festivals and spoken-word performances. It carries our many accents, ancestries and faiths. It gives form to private feeling and preserves public memory.A poet is, among other things, a truth-teller. Poets record our heights and our failures, what is beautiful in us and what is broken, the country as we celebrate it and the country as it is experienced by those who stand at its margins. They examine the human condition and the wider world without turning away from what is difficult. Sometimes, they give words to truths a society already knows. At other times, they make visible what a society has been trying not to see.This is why Percy Bysshe Shelley’s description of poets as “the unacknowledged legislators of the world” remains so apt. Poets do not make law; they help to shape the moral climate in which laws are debated, power is exercised and citizens understand themselves. Their authority comes from independence of mind, disciplined craft and fidelity to truth.Mr. Keens-Douglas, your work has proved the point. Through Tanti Merle, Vibert and the world of Mr. Tim Tim, you have preserved the cadence, humour and social memory of Caribbean life without sanding away its unmistakably local character. Trinidad and Tobago has long heard itself in your work. As you conclude your tenure as our first national Poet Laureate, I thank you for the imagination, wit and humanity with which you have served.I cannot speak of poetry reaching the next generation without also acknowledging Derron Sandy, a regular supporter of and performer at The Office of The President’s annual Pan Camps. Through spoken word, he has helped our young campers discover that their own experiences are worthy of expression and that their own voices deserve to be heard.Truth-telling, however, has never been without cost. We should be alert whenever a nation’s public voice begins to grow guarded: when citizens weigh not only what they wish to say, but how their words may be received; or when measures adopted for exceptional circumstances begin to shape ordinary civic life. No one doubts that public safety is a solemn responsibility. But so, too, is preserving the space in which citizens may question, reflect and contribute with confidence. A healthy democracy makes room for both security and candour.At such moments, we need poets to speak out and speak up. Their task is not to become agents of any organization or faction, but to retain the independence to celebrate what is worthy, illuminate what calls for attention, and give voice to experiences that might otherwise go unheard. Speaking truth to power need not be adversarial. At its best, it is an act of faith in the Republic - the belief that its institutions are strengthened, not diminished, by thoughtful and honest engagement.In a country of many communities and convictions, truth-telling must also make room for listening. Poetry can address difficult realities without diminishing the dignity of others. It can bring injustice into view without turning disagreement into enmity, and invite those entrusted with authority to see what they might not otherwise see. That union of candour and humanity is especially valuable to our national conversation.That truth-telling tradition extends beyond the printed page to the calypso stage. As Trinidad and Tobago prepares to lay Slinger Francisco, the Mighty Sparrow, to rest tomorrow, we remember one of the greatest exponents of that tradition. Through the calypsos he brought to life, the intelligence of his interpretation and the force of his performance, Sparrow made humour carry criticism and melody carry memory. He could celebrate us and chastise us in the same breath. He showed that an artist can be loved by a people without flattering them. In saying farewell to him tomorrow, we will honour an incomparable performer and the civic value of an unafraid Caribbean voice.The authentic human voice has acquired a second urgency. Artificial intelligence can now assemble polished verse in seconds. It can recognise patterns, imitate cadences and reproduce the surface of a style. What it cannot do is live our history, bear moral responsibility for what it says or incur the human cost of an unpopular truth. A machine can generate language; it cannot supply conscience.We need not fear the technology or deny its usefulness. We must, however, protect authorship, consent and credit. For poets, the answer is to become more fully themselves. This is no time to retreat into imitation or silence. We need voices formed by lived experience, disciplined craft, moral judgment and the courage to be recognizably their own.To the laureate who will be named shortly, I offer my congratulations and this charge: let the office enlarge the reach of your voice without narrowing its freedom. Speak in a voice unmistakably your own. Tell us what is beautiful and what is broken. Praise us when praise is due, and disturb us when conscience requires it. Help the country hear voices it might otherwise miss.A nation does not need its poets merely to praise it. It needs poets who love it enough to tell it the truth.Thank you. ...

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9 hours ago

Full of life and curiosity, the tiny tots of Kidz Smart Preschool brought lots of excitement and laughter to The President’s House on Thursday, 15 October, as they toured the house and grounds and had a special opportunity to meet Her Excellency Christine Carla Kangaloo, ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.From their sweet smiles and warm hugs to their cheerful chatter, these little visitors certainly made the morning one to remember! ☀️💛 ...

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The Office of the President of the Republic of T&T

23 hours ago

#HappeningNow Her Excellency Christine Carla Kangaloo ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago presents Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné with the 2026 Poet Laureate of Trinidad and Tobago award.The Poet Laureate of Trinidad and Tobago Programme, which is a national platform dedicated to recognising literary excellence, celebrating our nation's oral tradition and strengthening engagement with the literary arts, is coordinated by the Circle of Poets of Trinidad and Tobago in collaboration with the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS). Her Excellency, who is patron of the programme, also delivered the feature address at the event. ...

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The Office of the President of the Republic of T&T

1 day ago

Today, Thursday, October 15, 2026, His Excellency Salman Nabit Mukarak Abdullah Al-Khulaifi, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, with residence in Caracas, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, presented his Letters of Credence to Her Excellency Christine Carla Kangaloo, ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, at The President’s House.His Excellency was accompanied by Mr. Yousef Mohammed Al-Sulaiti, Third Secretary at the Embassy of the State of Qatar.Letters of Credence are formal diplomatic documents through which a Head of State accredits an Ambassador to represent their country in another state. Following each presentation of Letters of Credence, the newly accredited Ambassador is escorted from The President’s House by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) Mounted Branch. ...

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The Office of the President of the Republic of T&T

2 days ago

His Excellency William Bush, Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago paid a farewell courtesy call on Her Excellency Christine Carla Kangaloo ORTT, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday 14 October, 2026 at The President’s House.The outgoing Ambassador was accompanied by Ms. Cheyenne Lee, Executive Assistant and Adviser to the Ambassador, and Ms. Celeste Reid, Personal Assistant.Ambassador Bush first presented his credentials on Friday 9 June, 2023, at the first Presentation of Credentials ceremony hosted by Her Excellency following her assumption of office in March of that year.During the farewell visit, Her Excellency thanked the Ambassador for his service and extended her best wishes for his future endeavours. ...

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