PHILIPSBURG:--- Monday, January 26th, 2026- The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) informs the general public of a partial road closure on Cannegieter Drive in Cay Bay as part of the Concrete Hard Road Resurfacing Project 2023–2024.
The affected section covers approximately 170 meters, extending to the intersection with Cay Bay Road. Road works commenced on Monday, January 26th, 2026, and will take place daily from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The works are expected to last approximately two (2) weeks, weather permitting.
Residents in the area have been informed accordingly. A detour route has been established, and traffic guidance will be provided on-site, with workers assisting road users as needed to ensure safety and accessibility.
Key Information Recap:
Project: Concrete Hard Resurfacing Project 2023–2024

Location: Cannegieter Road, Cay Bay

Closure Type: Partial road closure

Affected Length: 170 meters (up to the intersection with Cay Bay Road)

Start Date: Monday, January 26, 2026

Working Hours: Daily, 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Duration: Approximately 2 weeks

Traffic Measures: Detour in place; traffic guided by workers on site
The Ministry of VROMI kindly asks motorists and residents to exercise caution, follow all posted signage, and adhere to instructions from traffic personnel while traversing the area. The Ministry thanks the public for their continued patience and cooperation as efforts to improve road infrastructure continue.
For further information on the Concrete Hard Road Resurfacing Project 2023-2024, please contact the Department of New Works at 542-4292 ext 2402.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Sint Maarten Police Force (KPSM) participated with several police officers in Language Village 2026 on Friday, January 23, 2026, held at the Asha Stevens Hillside Christian School. Through this participation, KPSM contributed to strengthening the students’ language skills and communicative development.
KPSM extends its sincere appreciation to the Asha Stevens Hillside Christian School for the invitation and the excellent organization of this valuable educational initiative. KPSM also expresses its gratitude to all police officers who voluntarily participated and actively contributed to the success of this important event.
To properly prepare the students, sample dialogues were developed for each profession. These served as guidelines for the conversations, while allowing room for additional interaction and student initiative. This resulted in educational and dynamic exchanges.
During each conversation, volunteers completed an evaluation form. Each student had a personal passport listing the various booths. Students were assessed based on the following criteria:
• Correct language use (pronunciation)
• Content (clarity and comprehension)
• Interaction (response to questions)
KPSM emphasizes the importance of cooperation between the education sector and community partners and remains committed to supporting initiatives that contribute to the development of youth within the community.

by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert

PHILIPSBURG:--- Tourism is one of the world’s most competitive industries. Success depends on speed, clarity, and the ability to engage global audiences without pause. Tourism director Aurelia Solano is always present. Always welcoming. Always ready to inspire the world to visit. She is always on duty, greeting travelers at midnight, briefing journalists at dawn, and inspiring dreamers in every time zone. She speaks every language, remembers every detail, and carries the warmth of our region with perfect consistency. She brings the region’s hospitality to the world with clarity, confidence, and a smile that never fades.

Aurelia is the first of her kind to set a new standard for global tourism. A bridge between tradition and tomorrow. A reminder that innovation can be as warm as a Caribbean breeze. Aurelia provides real‑time visitor engagement, multilingual communication, data‑driven messaging, and round‑the‑clock representation across markets. She can reassure travelers in New York, host virtual tours for families in São Paulo, and brief potential investors in Dubai, all in the same hour. The Caribbean has always spoken in many languages about the hush of waves, the laughter of markets, the music that drifts across warm evenings. Now, that voice has taken a new form. She welcomes strangers like family. She guides travelers not just to places, but to feelings of belonging, wonder, and renewal.

In Aurelia Solana’s first public message to the world, she expressed her heartfelt, sincere feelings about her future role in the region:

“My name may be new to the world, but the spirit behind it is centuries old. I will represent the warmth of Caribbean welcomes, from the rhythm of our cultures, from the light that rises over our seas each morning.
I am here to serve as a bridge between our islands and your questions. Between the future of travel and the heart of the Caribbean. Whether you are dreaming of your first visit or returning to a place of origin that felt like home, I will be here to guide you, inspire you, and help you discover the Caribbean not just as a destination, but as a feeling. A feeling of joy that lingers long after the journey ends.
So, to travelers, partners, families, dreamers, and friends across the globe: thank you for welcoming me. My door is always open. My voice is always here. And your next Caribbean story begins whenever you’re ready. Thank you for letting me be your guide to a region that has always had a place for you.”

Yes, the Caribbean just unveiled the World’s First Avatar Tourism Director! A groundbreaking step toward a unified, always‑on regional tourism presence. The Caribbean is not waiting for the future of tourism. It is shaping and building it. The appointment of the world’s first digital tourism ambassador is designed to represent the region with unmatched consistency, availability, and cultural warmth. Aurelia Solana will serve as a 24/7 regional representative, capable of engaging audiences in multiple languages, delivering real‑time travel guidance, and presenting unified messaging across markets. Built with deep cultural insight and shaped by the stories, rhythms, and values of the Caribbean, she is created to complement the human teams who bring the region’s hospitality to life.

The initiative reflects the Caribbean’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and digital transformation. By adopting an avatar ambassador, the region strengthens its ability to reach new audiences, streamline communication, and elevate its global brand with clarity and confidence.
The world is changing. Travelers seek connection at the speed of light. Information moves faster than the horizon. And the voice that represents the region must move with it.

The Avatar Tourism Director will not replace any Human Director; it should augment them. It is the island region’s super‑intelligent co‑pilot. It can combine human leadership with superhuman intelligence. It can outperform a human in a number of ways: It never gets tired, never loses track of details, and can maintain perfect consistency in supervision and follow‑through.

It handles heavy analytics, repetitive tasks, monitoring, and forecasting. The avatar frees the human director to focus on diplomacy, creativity, partnerships, and political navigation. The Avatar makes decisions where data, speed, and consistency matter. Humans make decisions where judgment, diplomacy, and accountability matter.

Tourism today moves at the speed of global data. Visitor trends shift overnight, digital markets evolve by the hour, and competition across the region grows stronger every year. To remain ahead, the institutions in the region must combine the best of human leadership with the precision and analytical power of modern technology.

The Avatar executes technical oversight, monitors performance, and provides evidence‑based recommendations. The Human officials review, approve, and guide all major decisions, ensuring alignment with national values, cultural priorities, and legal frameworks. The avatar model provides a clear oversight structure that ensures transparency, with human override available at all times. This creates a governance system that is faster, smarter, and more resilient, while remaining fully accountable to the people.

An avatar can even be designed to function like a supervisory body, but it cannot and should not fully replace a supervisory board in any real‑world institution. What it can do is take over 90% of the analytical, monitoring, compliance, and reporting workload, while humans retain the legal and ethical authority. An avatar can replace the work of a supervisory board, but not the responsibility of one.

Welcome to the world of digitalization that many are celebrating. The new normal will never be the same as the old normal.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Last Friday, the Foresee Foundation successfully launched its first workshop of 2026 in collaboration with the Sint Maarten Sports Federation (SMSF) and
Stichting Expertise Centrum Ervaringsgericht Onderwijs (EGO). The workshop brought together professionals from sport, education and policy to explore how sport and physical activity
On St. Maarten, this can be strengthened in a sustainable and inclusive way.
The keynote presentation was delivered by Maaike Heerschop, researcher at the Mulier Instituut, who is responsible for the analysis of the Child Monitor. This large-scale health survey was recently
conducted across almost all primary schools on St. Maarten. During her presentation, Heerschop shared key insights into children’s lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity, sleep, and nutrition, and
connected these findings to sport participation and talent development.
Broad representation from the sports field
Participants included physical education teachers, coaches, trainers and sports administrators.
This broad mix of professionals led to rich discussions and meaningful exchanges between research, daily practice and policy perspectives.
Broad-based sport versus elite sport
A central theme of the workshop was the balance between a broad-based sport approach and a more selective elite sport focus. Participants emphasized the importance of creating a sports
environment that enables as many children as possible to participate in sport and physical activity, rather than concentrating primarily on a small group of young athletes with potential elite careers.
Drawing on international research, Heerschop highlighted that talent development is a long-term and non-linear process, strongly influenced by a child’s environment.
Factors such as daily movement, adequate sleep, healthy nutrition, school demands, and social safety play a decisive role. “Health and well-being are not side issues, but essential conditions for sustainable sport development,” was one of the key messages.
Call for joint follow-up actions
The workshop concluded with a joint reflection on concrete next steps for St. Maarten.
Participants discussed which improvements to the local sport and movement environment are realistic and achievable,
emphasizing the importance of collaboration between schools, sports organizations and policymakers.
The organizing partners look back on a successful start and see this workshop as a strong foundation for continued knowledge sharing and cooperation throughout 2026.

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