Five T&T nationals will be recognised for their excellence, resilience, and impact on the world stage at the Met Gala-inspired The River Runway: A Republic Day Soirée, set to take place this Saturday, September 20th, in New York City.
The 2025 honourees are:
Victoria Britt: The Spirit of the Diaspora Award for Distinguished Community Service.
Rick Davy: The Vanguard Award for Global Influence in Fashion.
Nicole Dyer-Griffith: The Beacon Award for Transformational Healing and Advocacy.
Asha Lovelace: The Heritage Award for Cultural Stewardship in Film Programming.
Dominic Kalipersad: The Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Journalism and Public Discourse.
Media icon, patron, and honorary chair of the event, Renee Cummings, says The River Runway aims to celebrate cultural pride, global diaspora impact, and philanthropy.
“For me one of the things that I always speak about is excellence. I believe my entire career speaks to that, the work that I do now speaks to that as well. But the other thing about me is, I like to celebrate people. I think the journey that we live is not so much about ourselves but it’s celebrating others and I always say that great nations become visible not only by their excellence but their excellence also makes them unforgettable. The other thing I always say is that world class was invented in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Ms. Cummings says the event speaks to sovereignty, with the greatest celebration of a nation being the celebration of each other.
“It speaks to the sophistication of sovereignty. It speaks to these individuals that are helping shape the future of Trinidad and Tobago. When we think of Republic Day, we also think about this question, how do we mature as a country, how are we maturing as a nation, and excellence needs to be a critical part of that maturity. I think sometimes in Trinidad and Tobago we speak about more of our challenges and every country has challenges but I think the beauty is to always rise above those challenges and celebrate the things that make us extraordinary.”
Ms. Cummings said the event is tied to a generous cause, with the proceeds directed to supporting a film programme for young women, spearheaded by filmmaker Asha Lovelace.
“We decided we want to take the proceeds of this event and give it to Asha for her to build this programme with these young women, transform their lives through film and I know there are going to be young women in this programme who will go on to probably become world renowned filmsmakers and would be able to use their own challenge and change it into a story of resilience and change it into stories that continuously across generations empower more and more Trinidadian nationals to embrace excellence.”