Durrant Pate/ Contributor

The first-ever Clevenard Global Award 2026—which represents the highest recognition within the Clevenard platform, celebrating excellence, leadership, and real-world impact beyond titles or positions—is to be awarded to Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

He will receive the honour on Saturday, August 29, at a ceremony at the Palau de Congressos d’Alicante, Spain, where he will also deliver the keynote address on the topic, ‘Redefining the Future: Tourism, Sustainability, and Inclusive Global Development’. This award is a merger of the Clevenard Media Award and the Clevenard Radio Music Award into one unified and more prestigious honour: The Clevenard Global Award—where legacy meets global impact.

Beginning with the 2026 edition, all Clevenard award activities will be held globally, moving from city to city, with a primary focus in Spain. This marks a new era of global visibility, collaboration, and growth for participants, partners, and nominees. From this year onward, the awards will always be integrated with the Clevenard Open Project, reinforcing the platform’s mission to foster global networking, capacity-building, and meaningful professional connections.

Global tourism icon

Bartlett is recognised worldwide as a global tourism icon for his transformative leadership in tourism, resilience, and sustainable development. He has reshaped Jamaica’s tourism industry and inspired nations globally to adopt innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable growth as core strategies for economic and social development.

The minister is widely recognised as an authority on crisis management, resilience, and sustainable development in tourism. He is the Founder and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), a pioneering international institution helping countries prepare for, respond to, and recover from economic shocks, natural disasters, and global crises. 

His leadership inspired the United Nations to declare February 17 as Global Tourism Resilience Day, highlighting his extraordinary influence on global tourism policy and sustainable practices. According to the organisers, “Minister Bartlett’s visionary leadership has elevated tourism as a powerful driver of economic growth, community empowerment, and global resilience. His keynote will be a historic highlight of the Clevenard Open Project.” The Clevenard Global Award 2026 is an honorary, non-competitive global distinction reserved exclusively for elite individuals whose work has created a lasting impact worldwide.

With over 40 years of distinguished public service, Minister Bartlett is renowned as a visionary policymaker, strategic innovator, and tireless advocate for sustainable and inclusive growth. Under his leadership, Jamaica’s tourism sector has become a world-class model of economic impact, resilience, and community empowerment, driving record-breaking arrivals, attracting international investment, and creating strong linkages across local industries, including agriculture, entertainment, and manufacturing.

Bartlett’s transforming tourism and empowering communities

• Pioneered programs that ensure tourism benefits both the industry and local communities, including:
• Tourism Workers Pension Scheme—providing long-term security for Jamaica’s tourism workforce
•  Jamaica Centre of Tourism Innovation (JCTI) – developing a skilled and professional tourism workforce
• Tourism Innovation Incubator—fostering entrepreneurship and new business development
• Grange Pen Housing Development—providing housing and social support for tourism workers and their families

Through these initiatives, Minister Bartlett has created a model where tourism drives economic growth while empowering communities and improving the quality of life.