ABOUT

Independent. Mission‑led. Professionally operated.

FOUNDATIONAL PILLARS

Purpose, Mission & Vision

Bringing publishing, recognition, events and professional expertise together through a clear purpose, mission and long-term vision.

01

Our Purpose

To strengthen the global Caribbean community by bringing its people, knowledge and achievements into greater connection.

02

Our Mission

To inform through independent publishing, celebrate excellence through recognition and events, and provide professional expertise that turns purposeful ideas into practical outcomes.

03

Our Vision

A world in which Caribbean people and communities are valued for their contributions, confident in their identities and able to shape a stronger shared future.

Who We Are

Caribbean Unity Network is founder‑led and independently developed. We do not claim to speak for every Caribbean person or community. Our role is to create credible platforms, convene useful connections and deliver work with integrity.

We bring publishing, recognition, events and Professional Services together within one organisation structured around Inform, Celebrate and Advise. Each pillar has a distinct purpose, but together they strengthen visibility, connection and opportunity across the Caribbean and its global diaspora.

What “Unity” and “Network” Mean to Us

Unity

Unity means connection, confidence and collective strength, not sameness. It reflects the belief that Caribbean people and organisations can stand taller when they recognise and value one another’s distinct contributions.

Network

Network describes the relationships, interactions and opportunities created through CUN’s work. It does not imply a formal membership structure. CUN is a platform, not a membership body and not the official voice of Caribbean communities.

People engage with CUN in different ways as readers, contributors, honourees, nominees, judges, guests, clients, collaborators, sponsors, suppliers or partners. Each relationship is distinct and contributes in its own way to the wider network.

OUR GOVERNANCE STANDARD

How We Work

Caribbean Unity Network is independent, mission‑led and professionally operated. Bringing publishing, recognition, partnerships and Professional Services together requires clear boundaries, responsible decision‑making and transparency about how different relationships are managed.

OUR Commitments Include

1. Separation

Maintaining clear separation between editorial, awards, partnership and client decisions

2. Conflict Management

Declaring and managing actual or potential conflicts of interest

3. Sponsorship

Ensuring that sponsorship, partnership or commissioned work does not automatically lead to editorial coverage, award recognition or favourable treatment

4. Awards Transparency

Publishing clear eligibility criteria, assessment processes and judging arrangements for each awards cycle.

5. Commitments

Making commitments responsibly and within agreed resources and capacity

6. Arrangements

Applying proportionate arrangements for data protection, safeguarding, accessibility, feedback and complaints

These commitments protect the independence and credibility of our work while ensuring that contributors, nominees, clients, partners and audiences understand how decisions are made.

Read our governance commitments Contact CUN

OUR AUDIENCES

Who We Serve

Our publishing, recognition and community activities serve people across Britain, the Caribbean and its global diaspora. Our Professional Services are available to individuals, organisations and institutions from all backgrounds.

Caribbean people and communities in the UK, across the region and throughout the wider diaspora
Readers and contributors seeking thoughtful Caribbean centred publishing
People whose achievement and contribution deserve credible recognition
Organisations, institutions and businesses seeking experienced strategic support
Partners and sponsors whose aims align with specific CUN work
Wider audiences who value informed perspectives, excellent work and purposeful connection

OUR EVOLUTION

From Event Connoisseurs to Caribbean Unity Network

Event Connoisseurs was established in 2022 as an independent platform through which founder Elizabeth Flanders could apply her existing programme and event experience to ideas and initiatives she developed herself.

2022 • Work Established

Event Connoisseurs was established, and the inaugural Spirit of the Caribbean Ball and Black Honour Awards were delivered at the ILEC Conference Centre in London, welcoming approximately 250 guests. One Caribbean Magazine also launched in 2022.

2024 • Recognition Continued

The second recognition event was delivered at Royal Lancaster London, centred more closely on the finalists, their supporters and the judging panel.

2026 • Caribbean Unity Network Established

Caribbean Unity Network Ltd was established to take forward and expand the work developed through Event Connoisseurs.

2027 • Caribbean Honour Awards

The recognition programme previously known as the Black Honour Awards continues as the Caribbean Honour Awards, presented at the Spirit of the Caribbean Ball.

FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR

Elizabeth Flanders

Elizabeth Flanders is the founder of Caribbean Unity Network and an experienced programme, events and stakeholder‑engagement professional with more than 30 years’ experience spanning public service, organisational development, strategic programmes and live events.

Her professional experience was established long before the creation of Event Connoisseurs. Across a varied career, Elizabeth has worked within complex and highly accountable environments, leading programmes, coordinating national and local initiatives and turning strategic priorities into structured, deliverable plans.

She has managed people, budgets, suppliers, contracts, negotiations, governance and senior stakeholders. She has developed frameworks, supported organisational change and brought together people with different roles, priorities and perspectives around shared outcomes.

Programme and Event Leadership
Elizabeth’s career includes extensive work within the NHS, where she led and supported complex programmes involving national, regional and local stakeholders. Her experience spans programme governance, policy implementation, service improvement, stakeholder engagement, research, evidence gathering and communications.

Her earlier experience included leading an events team responsible for national conferences, training programmes and stakeholder events, managing staff, budgets, venues, suppliers and commercial arrangements.

This combination of strategic programme leadership and practical event delivery continues to shape her work.

Creating Independent Platforms
In 2022, Elizabeth established Event Connoisseurs as an independent platform through which she could originate and develop purposeful work reflecting Caribbean identity, contribution and achievement.

Through her own initiative, professional experience, relationships and substantial personal and financial investment, she created and delivered:

● The inaugural Spirit of the Caribbean Ball
● The Black Honour Awards
● Four issues of One Caribbean Magazine

A defining principle of her recognition work is that every shortlisted nominee is invited as a guest and receives one complimentary ticket.

Bringing That Experience to Others
Elizabeth’s external commission supporting ACSIS 2025 demonstrated the wider value of her skills establishing structure, anticipating operational needs, coordinating people, solving problems calmly and maintaining focus on the experience of everyone involved.

Through CUN’s Professional Services, she now makes that expertise available to organisations and individuals seeking experienced support with strategic events, recognition programmes, programme development and partnership activity.

“Across everything I do, I am guided by one question: how do we turn good ideas, visibility and goodwill into structures, relationships and opportunities that create lasting value?”

OUR MISSION FORWARD

The Next Stage

Caribbean Unity Network represents the next stage of this work. Through Inform, Celebrate and Advise, it brings publishing, reader insight, recognition, events and Professional Services together within a clearer and more sustainable organisational model.

Magazine Evolution

One Caribbean Magazine is evolving into REVIEW.

Recognition

From 2027, the recognition programme becomes the Caribbean Honour Awards, presented at the Spirit of the Caribbean Ball.

Professional Services

Through Professional Services, the expertise previously applied primarily to our own programmes is now available to other organisations and clients.

This evolution carries forward the foundations established through Event Connoisseurs while creating room for new work, wider participation and sustainable growth. Each area retains its distinct purpose, supported by shared experience, relationships and a commitment to lasting value.