Caiso invites nominations for Hard Head Award 2021

CAISO: Sex and Gender Justice is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Colin Robinson Hard Head Award.

The award is inspired by the ways that CAISO’s late founding director, Colin Robinson, a former Sunday Newsday columnist, used creative imagination to speak out against injustice.

It recognises and honours exceptional leadership in transforming how others see and imagine the world, particularly in the spheres of transformational activism, artistic boldness and meaningful solidarity. The purpose of the award is to support individuals working towards equity and justice for all, whose work connects political advocacy, creativity and coalition building.

The award is named after Colin Robinson’s 2016 book of poems, You Have You Father Hard Head,’to celebrate Caribbean understandings of the phrase “hard head,” which signifies persistence, stubbornness, relentlessness and focus. The award is open to people living in TT who are engaged in activism for social change, promoting the values of human rights and justice for all, and who display the attributes of persistence, stubbornness, relentlessness, and/or focus (exemplifying “hard-headedness”) as well as radicalism and resilience.

Robinson passed away on March 4 in Washington DC after a protracted battle with cancer. His impact on how sexuality, gender, power, and justice are articulated, experienced, and legislated within the Caribbean was globally felt and recognised. Over the last 40 years, he courageously led the conversation around how black and brown people reclaim their queerness in spaces from which they are often shunned. This unfaltering courage led to his co-founding, leading and facilitating several of the most influential LGBTI+ organisations and movements within the Caribbean, including CAISO.

In 2020, the inaugural Hard Head award was won by Nadella Oya, founder and director of createfuturegood, an organisation whose aim is to “help children to enjoy their rights through creative interventions, shaping conscious adults who will make a better world.” For more information on the 2020 award process, visit: https://caisott.org/the-2020-hard-head-award.

The award consists of a grant of $15,000 and a citation. Honourable mentions and/or a youth award may be given at the discretion of the judging panel. The nomination process is an open one, that is, anyone may nominate a candidate, and candidates may nominate themselves.

Prospective nominators and nominees are invited to visit the CAISO website for a direct link to the submission form: https://caisott.org/hard-head-award. You can also e-mail any questions to: hardheadaward@gmail.com.

The recipient will be announced during the Hard Head Award Ceremony planned for Human Rights Day, December 10.