As Cuba grapples with its most severe internal crisis in decades, the Cuba Research Institute at Florida International University is bringing together top experts from around the world to debate the island's future.
The XV Conference on Cuban and Cuban American Studies is set to take place February 26–27 at FIU's Modesto A. Maidique campus.
Themed "Cuba: The Day After Tomorrow" (Cuba Pasado Mañana), the conference is dedicated to the memory of the late Cuban American artist Humberto Calzada.
It represents the largest international gathering of its kind since 1997, bringing together more than 75 scholars, activists, and students from the U.S., Cuba, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
The conference is convening at a time when Cuba is struggling with an acute economic crisis, ongoing blackouts, a disruption in oil shipments from Venezuela and U.S. sanctions that Cuban officials say cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025.
Cuba had relied heavily on oil shipments from Venezuela, but those were disrupted when the U.S. attacked the South American country on Jan. 3 and arrested its president.
Over the course of two days and 23 interdisciplinary panels, conference participants will explore the potential for a "national refoundation."
Supported by CasaCuba, the Frost Art Museum and others, the conference aims to provide a comprehensive roadmap for a free and independent Cuba.
Find more information about the conference here
View the conference agenda here
