SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - As September marks Literacy Month, the Philipsburg Cultural and Community Center is proud to announce Stories of St. Maarten: A Year of Reading & Discovery, a sustained reading-promotion programme that will run from September 2026 through May 2027. The initiative places local literature, St. Maarten identity and meaningful student participation at the heart of reading.
Launched during Literacy Month, the programme responds to a simple but important goal: to help children experience reading not only as a school requirement, but as a source of enjoyment, imagination, confidence, cultural connection and discovery.
Throughout the school year, participating students will read, listen, discuss, create and reflect through monthly author and book focuses, classroom reading circles, author encounters, creative assignments and family and community activities.
The program is presented by the Philipsburg Cultural and Community Center in partnership with the Nederlands Letterenfonds (Dutch Foundation for Literature). It is being coordinated by Kenty Lichtenberg, Project Manager, in close collaboration with participating schools of Foundation Catholic Education St. Maarten, teachers, authors, readers, families and community partners.
“Literacy Month gives us a meaningful moment to begin a longer journey,” said Kenty Lichtenberg, Project Manager. “When children see their island, history, language, imagination and lived experiences reflected in books, reading becomes personal. This program creates sustained opportunities for students to meet local literary voices, share their own ideas and recognize that their stories also matter.”
From September through May, the program will highlight themes including island identity, place and belonging, heritage and community, family and imagination, St. Martin history and memory, Black history and Caribbean voices, and self-empowerment. Sessions will combine read-alouds and storytelling with student discussion and reflection connected to St. Martin heritage and community life.
Participating authors that are being scheduled across the program include Ralph Cantave, Tamara Leonard, Aishira Cicilia, Shanice Felix-Theodule, Quenton Marlin, Ruby Bute and Amy Arrindell. The school year will conclude with a celebration of Caribbean readers, writers and literary legacy featuring participating authors and student voices.
The Philipsburg Cultural and Community Center extends sincere appreciation to the Nederlands Letterenfonds for its partnership and support, Foundation Catholic Education St. Maarten and the participating schools, teachers, authors, readers, families and community contributors helping to bring this initiative to life. Most importantly, we look forward to the students making the program their own through their curiosity, creativity and growing love for reading.
