Above: the Hyatt Regency Trinidad

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Americas Competitiveness Forum begins Wednesday in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

This year’s conference will be the eighth edition of the forum, which is being held under the theme “The Human Imagination at Work: Driving Competitiveness, Powering Innovation.”

Trinidad is the first English-speaking country to host the forum, which gathers government, business leaders and academics to “discuss innovative methods to achieve economic competitiveness and promote innovation in the Caribbean and the Americas,” according to a statement.

Trinidad Foreign Minister Winston Dookeran met Tuesday with Organization of American States Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza ahead of the conference, discussing issues “issues related to the economy and politics in the Hemisphere,” according to an OAS statement.

The forum will be followed by an “Innovation Village” this weekend at the Jean Pierre Complex, emphasizing a “place of innovation, motion and movement, encouraging social and positive interaction and imagination,” focusing on areas including defence and security, environment, health and safety and information and communication technology.

The forum concludes Oct. 10; it is being hosted at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, home to many of the Caribbean’s larger conferences in recent years.

Last year’s forum was hosted in Panama.