Observation of the weak institutions in the Caribbean American Diaspora community give rise to the need to pay particular attention to training both the current leadership cohort as well as the next generation of Caribbean Americans in leadership skills relevant to civic and community participation.   To that end ICS convened the Caribbean Futures Dialogue in 2007.  ICS representatives have also participated in training programs organized by FEMA.  ICS has developed a proposal for Board Leadership Training for Caribbean Diaspora organizations and is actively seeking funding to execute this in five main locales across the country.

ICS is also establishing a Caribbean Student Association Leaders Network to assist in the further development of youth programs piloted such as the Student Debate Competition and the Youth Leadership Dialogue.

STUDENT DEBATE COMPETITION

As part of its goal to nurture young Caribbean leaders, ICS sponsored the CARICOM Student Debate Competition in collaboration with the World Bank/International Monetary Fund Caribbean Association and the Washington, D.C. branch of the University of the West Indies Guild of Graduates in 1996.  Students from Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, N.Y. traveled to Washington, D.C. to challenge their counterparts from Morgan Sate University in Baltimore, MD on the topic, "Is Affirmative Action a Hindrance to the Socio-Economic Development of Minorities in the United States?"  The students both challenged and supported prevailing perceptions of affirmative action, its intended purpose, the resulting impact on American society, as well as the future of the program. Many statements have risen from the ranks of debating halls and ICS will persevere in this effort to groom the future leaders of the Caribbean and Caribbean Diaspora.