The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), CCRIF SPC – the development insurer of the Caribbean and Central America, and CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean will jointly host the 2nd Wider Caribbean Regional Risk Conference from September 3-4, 2025. The event, which will be held in Barbados and online, aims to catalyse concrete action to tackle the region’s most urgent and complex risks. 

Bringing together policymakers, technocrats, development partners, researchers, private sector leaders, civil society, youth, and media, the conference will provide a platform for confronting the widening spectrum of risks facing small islands and coastal states. The agenda explores issues ranging from climate change and economic instability to misinformation, societal fragmentation, and emerging global disruptions linked to artificial intelligence, financial digitalisation, and shifting trade dynamics.

With the theme “Perspectives on Country Risk Management to Advance the Sustainable Development of the Small Island and Coastal States of the Region,” the conference is structured to move beyond dialogue toward tangible outcomes, including regional policy statements, defined responses to systemic threats and methods for accelerating collaboration.

“We are convening this conference to sharpen the Caribbean’s response to an increasingly complex and unpredictable global environment,” said Mr. Daniel Best, President of the CDB. “The risk landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by intensifying climate impacts, accelerating technological disruption, shifting geopolitical dynamics, and rising economic volatility. If our region is to achieve truly transformative development, we must embrace innovative, coordinated, and forward-looking strategies. This conference will serve as a launchpad for decisive action.”

Conference sessions will address a broad range of challenges and responses from the rise of protectionist trade policies, and supply chain interruptions, to the developmental impacts of disinformation and AI-generated content. Other segments will explore how the region can respond to hazard risks and ecosystem degradation, with special focus on the aftermath of recent extreme weather events such as Hurricane Beryl, and how countries can scale up the use of innovative financial instruments, nature-based solutions, and urban planning tools to enhance resilience.

“The region’s risk landscape spans every dimension of life, business, and development from economic volatility and social instability to technological disruption and geopolitical uncertainty,” Mr. Isaac Anthony, Chief Executive Officer of CCRIF SPC explained. “At CCRIF, we witness firsthand how deeply interconnected and far-reaching these threats have become. This conference is an opportunity for the region to confront them not with fear, but with clarity, coordination, and a renewed commitment to resilience.” 

Building on the foundation of the inaugural 2022 event, which focused on raising awareness around integrated risk management, the 2025 edition will place stronger emphasis on implementation, innovation, and regional policy coherence. Participants will share practical approaches and develop frameworks to enhance the region’s resilience in the face of intensifying multi-hazard threats.

Dr. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, Regional Manager for the Caribbean at CAF, described the event as an opportunity to match ambition with action. "At CAF, we view risk not as a constraint, but as an opportunity to catalyse sustainable transformation. This conference is about mobilising the Caribbean’s ingenuity and institutional strength to design new tools and deliver inclusive and resilient solutions at scale. If we are serious about safeguarding our future, we must invest in harmonized regional systems that are anticipatory and robust. This conference reflects our belief that policy and innovation must work hand in hand to mitigate today's risks and pre-empt those of tomorrow, thereby future-proofing our development progress.”

The 2nd Wider Caribbean Regional Risk Conference is open to stakeholders from across all sectors. Interested persons can register at: Registration - Caribbean Regional Risk Conference.