But listen carefully

To you, your MP have a duty

Whether or not you voted for them

They supposed to attend to the constituents' problem

For you they supposed to make time

They shouldn't be so hard to find

Allyuh keep calling in, call in and talk allyuh mind.

– Brian London, Call Dem Out

Over the past weeks, we embraced the enchantment of our music, the strength of our culture and the power of our stories. Perhaps for the first time, I saw attempts at getting to know the people who are seeking to represent us and delving into the communities that will be impacted by their leadership.

Yet, as we look to the future, we must also face the reality that our civic space is getting smaller. The cherished ritual of choice has become tarnished by apathy, disillusionment and a questioning of the systems that are supposed to make our lives easier.

Is it enough to rely on our representatives for the transformation we need, or should our population become more adept at catalysing such change? What role could there be for the creative sector in fostering deeper civic awareness?

Civic space is described as, the environment that allows individuals and groups to participate meaningfully in the political, economic, social, and cultural life of their societies. The study of civics goes beyond offering insights into politics.

It is about building the capacity of citizens to be more critically engaged in the decision-making process of their country, demand accountability from their leaders and develop a more compassionate society. However, as admirable as all of this may sound, the reality is our civic space is shrinking due to factors such as hostile gender relations, lack of inclusion and threats to freedom of the press.

In TT, we have consistently avoided empowering citizens to make decisions, think critically or demystify the political process. In fact, one may argue that the removal of civics from school curricula essentially resulted in disempowering citizens, putting us at a disadvantage when it comes to making decisions about our collective future.

In recent times, efforts to re-introduce concepts of nation-building and civic responsibility still fail to resonate with students, largely because of the way that we continue to teach Caribbean people.

We tentatively tweak rather than implement innovative and exciting ways to encourage a more civic-minded nation. We consistently resist grounding our education in culture and the arts - as we successfully managed to do during the election.

But this conversation is not only about transforming our approach to inspiring meaningful engagement with the political system. Given the history and ethnic complexity of our nation, does the Westminster system even satisfy what we need now as a country?

Can its combative and inherently divisive nature (just start with the physical design of a Parliamentary Chamber) serve the needs of a society that needs to heal and grow? For instance, where are the voices and values of our indigenous and other ancestors in th