— A new word was coined last week — Caymanserratian — as Cayman Islands entrepreneurs Luigi Moxam and Susan Barnes brought their energy and ideas to YES Caribbean, a conference for entrepreneurs held on Montserrat May 25 -28, 2011.
Fashion designer Luigi Moxam shared his entrepreneurial story during various sessions over the four-day event and got local teens to model some of his gear as part of his presentation. Moxam showcased how he merged his love for the Cayman Islands, his passion for social and humanitarian causes, with his fashion label One Tree Four Five Collection. By the end of the four days, Moxam and Montserratian-born actress Dionne Audain had coined a new word Caymanserratian to define the new found connections and passion that was being shared and spread.
“I really felt the love and at home,” Moxam said. “I’m definitely coming back and want to see how we can collaborate more with the young people here.”
Dancer Susan Barnes gave a heavy hitting presentation called “Healthy, Wealthy, Wise: The Definition of True Success” in which she challenged those present to reassess the things that they have been using to define themselves. Barnes said Montserrat’s tragic volcanic story should be honoured and celebrated and then every effort made to move beyond it.
While on island she taught a dance class at the island’s smallest and youngest school, Samuel Community Academy, and also participated in the annual dance recital of Dance Excell. Barnes was also one of the panelists at the For Ladies Only, an inspirational evening hosted by YES Caribbean conference host Nerissa Golden.
“This was an amazing experience,” Barnes said. “I was especially touched by the children at the Samuel Academy, they were so responsive. It’s always a wonderful experience to be at YES.”
Both Barnes and Moxam were interviewed on several local radio programmes and were also part of the live internet broadcasts from the conference. The two teamed up for Saturday evening’s dance recital where Moxam showed he had a few skills other than fashion design.
The Caymanians were part of an all star line up of entrepreneurs, which included actress Dionne Audain, filmmaker Felicia Bradford, Career Development Expert Dr. Anita DeFoe and designer Kaishah Peters.
Cayman fashion designer Luigi Moxam plays a minor role as dancer Susan Barnes perform Saturday evening during the Dance Excell recital following the closing of the YES Caribbean conference on Montserrat