Our Programs
How Caribico turns ambition into institution
Caribico's program is the twelve-event annual calendar. Every chapter, regardless of country, university, or size, runs the same twelve events from September through August. The calendar is what makes Caribico a coordinated network rather than a federation of unrelated student clubs. Below is what your chapter does, month by month.
The Annual Calendar
SEPTEMBER
The Helm
The Helm is the first event of the Caribico year, held on the second or third Friday of September. Every chapter receives its returning members and welcomes the fall recruits who joined and paid dues through the chapter, with a brief Address, the pinning of new members, an icebreaker game, and refreshments. Two hours of programmed time.
NOVEMBER
The Forum
The Forum is the chapter's most public intellectual event of the year. A two-hour gathering with three speakers (or two speakers in a civil debate), audience Q&A, and a closing pitch. The chapter selects its own topic and recruits its own speakers. The Forum is the moment Caribico shows up on a university campus as a serious organization.
JANUARY
The Reconvening
The Reconvening opens the spring semester with the chapter's second pinning of the year. Members who joined and paid dues across the fall are pinned together. Two hours, mirroring the structure of the September Helm.
MARCH
The Stand
The Stand is the network's coordinated public demonstration. Every Caribico chapter participates on the same day in a peaceful, two-hour visibility action on a Caribbean issue chosen by the central office annually. The chapter shows up with signs, members in chapter regalia, on a visible campus location. The aggregate becomes a press piece across hundreds of campuses simultaneously.
MAY
The Roll Call
The Roll Call is the network's annual virtual gathering. Every chapter joins one Zoom. The central office presents the year's aggregate impact: total members, total chapters, total service hours, total Forums held, total Stands attended. The Chapter of the Year is announced. The Lecture speaker for June is revealed.
JULY
The Tides
The Tides connects chapters across cities and countries through sibling-chapter virtual pairings. Members from two chapters meet on a Zoom, share what their year looked like, and build the cross-chapter relationships that turn a directory into a network.
OCTOBER
The Service Day
The Service Day is Caribico's first public-facing event of the year, held on a designated Saturday in October. Every Caribico chapter performs 90 minutes of service on the same day, alongside a Caribbean-background community contact in their region. The aggregate is the brand: when every chapter submits its hours and headcount by Monday morning, the central office publishes one network-wide announcement of the work done that Saturday across every city Caribico operates in.
DECEMBER
The Recognition
The Recognition closes the fall semester with the chapter's choice of one of four formats: a private dinner, a progressive dinner across multiple homes, a potluck, or a party with other Caribbean organizations. The night includes mini-interviews on camera that become the chapter's marketing content for the following year, plus games and refreshments. Two hours.
FEBRUARY
Roots Night
Roots Night is the chapter's cultural evening. Two hours built around five stations that members move between at their own pace (music, food, film, language, heritage), followed by small-group storytelling in pairs of four. No solo performances. The night carries the cultural weight of the year without putting any single member on a stage.
APRIL
The Gala
The Gala is the chapter's year-anchor formal gathering. The format scales with chapter size: a private dinner at smaller chapters, a hotel ballroom event at larger ones. Senior chapter members are stoled. The Voices Wall composite from February's Roots Night is displayed. The year is closed and the chapter is thanked.
JUNE
The Lecture
The Lecture is the year's highest-leverage member benefit. A major Caribbean figure (a head of state, a major writer, a senior policymaker, a public intellectual) addresses the entire Caribico network virtually. Booked and produced by the central office. The Lecture is the credibility signal that distinguishes Caribico from any campus club.
AUGUST
The Handoff
The Handoff is the chapter's officer transition: a 90-minute Zoom call between outgoing and incoming officers, a transfer of credentials, and a brief mentorship window through the September Helm. The chapter is handed forward.
How Chapters Operate
● Every Caribico chapter is led by an executive team of officers: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Marketing Officer, and at least one Outreach Officer (chapters may have multiple Outreach Officers as they grow), plus a designated Media Lead. The minimum viable chapter has six executive members. Chapters can scale outreach roles up to ten or more as they grow.
● Chapters fall into two categories. University Chapters are based at a recognized higher education institution and draw membership primarily from its students. Regional Chapters operate in cities, regions, or diaspora communities and draw membership from professionals, alumni, community leaders, and allies. Both types run the same twelve-event calendar.
