The Caribbean Atlas

The Caribbean Atlas is an ongoing project aimed at bridging the digital gap in the Caribbean. This evolving online Atlas has resulted from the cooperation between several of the leading Universities in the Caribbean region: University of the West Indies (with campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad), Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (campuses in Martinique, Guadeloupe & Guyane), Universidad de la Habana (Cuba), University Antom de Kom (Suriname), and the Université d’Etat d’Haïti. It offers a scientific platform where established caribbeanists and young researchers can publish the result of their research in the social sciences and physical geography. The very nature of this digital project is transatlantic and trans-Caribbean. On an institutional level it bridges gaps between Caribbean Universities and link them to Caribbean scholars in North America and Europe. It bridges gaps between generations of scholars, between different disciplines, between the scientific community and the world of arts. The Caribbean Atlas offers a critical approach to the perception of the Caribbean. It provides an interested community with up to date statistics and maps that offer different viewpoints on the Caribbean. Its offer of short simple to read, yet academically rigorous articles, give scholars, students and other interested parties the possibility to get correct information beyond academic journals and online search engines owned by multinationals or the like. In sum, it represents a critical reflection on Caribbean societies and landscapes and the way Caribbean people perceive themselves. The Caribbean Atlas is at the same time a tool for learning, teaching and for developing scientific skills. We encourage students, young scholars, established academics, artists and activists to publish their work on the website and therefore to create a space where knowledge and critique about Caribbean issues are to be found. To make this possible, the website is designed to be a multilingual space providing all contents in English, French and Spanish.