Carlon Knight is the latest Antiguan and Barbudan who has been selected to join the New York-based Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Fellowship, which brings the young diplomat closer to the negotiating table for environmental diplomacy.
According to the Fellowship’s website, the programme, which runs from 4 March to 31 December, affords Fellows the unique opportunity to gain real-world experience at the United Nations (UN) while participating in a world-class training programme.
Knight, who is well accomplished in the field of public policy, economics and international diplomacy, joined the foreign service in 2014.
He most recently held the position of Political and Economic Attache at the Antigua and Barbuda High Commission in London, which is headed by High Commissioner Dr Karen Mae-Hill.
He has also completed undergraduate studies in Political Science and Economics from the University of the West Indies and a Master’s in International Public Management and Policy from Erasmus University as well as a certificate in Public Policy Economics from the University of Oxford.
“It is a tremendous privilege to have been selected as part of such an accomplished group of talented young diplomats from Small Island States around the world,” Knight said.
“I am aware of how competitive the selection process was and to be chosen as one of the ten fellows is an immense honour and I am deeply grateful to committee for selecting me as well as to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Antigua and Barbuda’s Mission to the UN for nominating me.”
The young Antiguan has also contributed numerous columns in various newspapers, and appeared as socio-economic and political analyst on radio and television programmes where he discussed domestic, regional and international affairs.
In September 2023, he was selected by the Global Diplomatic Forum to attend a Young Diplomats Leadership Forum and he has completed several training modules in diplomacy with the same organization.
Knight joins fellow Antiguan Zachary Phillips who was selected as an AOSIS Fellow in 2022 and noted how Antigua and Barbuda has been blessed with talent and “this selection and others like it demonstrate the heights our people can reach when given fair opportunity to succeed”.
Over the past nine years, the fellowship has seen more than 35 Fellows from 25 Small Island Developing States, with 90 percent returning to their respective nations to serve their countries, either within the government or public agencies, and more than half continuing to participate in the United Nations climate negotiations.
