Now, for the second year in a row, the Science Centre is peering into the scientific aspect of the festival and knocking down stereotypes as it goes. “Yup, there’s jerk chicken and dancing. Yes, there’s roti. But there’s also a nation of people who’ve adapted to the environment and, from what they were given, created a world that did not exist before. That is Caribbean culture,” says Ramcharan, who is in charge of special projects, visitor and community engagement at the Ontario Science Centre.

I guess the assumption that was made was that having Caribbean parents meant that I could not speak or understand English properly, even though I was born in the country where the language originated. That early experience of being marginalized by the school system never left me, and it sensitized me towards the experiences of discrimination faced by people of African and Caribbean heritage in Canada.’

As the deputy director at CERLAC, Dr. Davis aims to explore cultural links among these regions and Canada; to inform researchers, policy advisors and the public on matters concerning the regions; and to assist in the development of research and teaching institutions that directly benefit the peoples of the regions.