The theme for this year’s celebration is “Douvan Asanm: One People. Shaping our Destiny.”

Chair of the National Independence Committee, Ben Emanuel, explained that the intent is to build off of the momentum of last year’s celebrations. He said one of the objectives of the committee is to ensure that the 2023 activities provide opportunities for participation at all levels.

“We will have national events and we will also have district and community events; the idea being that we really want to bring people together,” he said. “So we will have zonal activities—activities by various sectors, but at all levels of the community we will see the participation of people. In fact some of the events will really bring people back into Independence activities for example our military rally. We made an attempt this year to ensure that we maximize community participation.”

Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Hon. Philip J. Pierre, encouraged members of the diaspora to join the Independence celebrations. He spoke to the importance of tapping into the skills of Saint Lucians living overseas.

“We would like for them to share their talents. There are doctors, scientists, people who have a wealth of experience and knowledge. There are inventors—only last week I met Dr. Cato Laurencin. He’s a world renowned scientist. There’s Dr Paris, and many other people who have a knowledge and understanding of the world who have lived out of Saint Lucia for a long time. We need them to come and share their experiences with Saint Lucia.”

The launch was held at the Finance Administrative Centre in Pointe Seraphine,  Castries.