News in 2025
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Building Caribbean Excellence: Strengthening Our Built Environment
22-23 October 2025 in Gros Islet, St. Lucia
The 12th Caribbean Valuation & Construction Conference 2025:
Innovation and Collaboration
Report by FIG President Diane Dumashie. Photo courtesy: IPTI
The 12th Caribbean Valuation & Construction Conference, convened by
the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
and the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI),
was proudly hosted by the Institute of Surveyors St Lucia Inc. (ISSLI).
Held in Saint Lucia, this years prestigious event positions the island’s
role as a hub for professional dialogue, innovation, and leadership in
the built environment.
Each year, the conference rotates among Caribbean nations, making it
a highly anticipated forum for regional and international collaboration.
The 2025 conference attracted around 150 delegates from across the
Caribbean, North America, and Europe, underscoring its global
significance.
ISSLI’s Role and International Affiliations
Led
by Clive Hippolyte, President of the Institute
of Surveyors St. Lucia (ISSLI), played a central role in hosting the
event, drawing on its membership that advances professional knowledge
across diverse surveying disciplines including land surveying,
valuation, quantity surveying, and property surveying and is proudly
affiliated with global bodies such as the International Federation of
Surveyors (FIG).
It
was a pleasure to meet with so many of the ISSLI governance and
secretariat team including immediate past ISSLI President Tryce
Loctar-Polius and other past Presidents. The welcome was
further underscored as many members of FIG were also represented
including Donna VanderVries, President of International
Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO),
and the Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy (CASLE).
This reinforced the collaborative importance of FIG, whose members from
Caribbean island nations (Anguilla - British West Indies, Bahamas,
Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago) and international organizations were
well represented.
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Left to right: Amy Rasmussen (CEO, IAAO),
Donna VanderVries (President, IAAO), and Diane Dumashine (FIG
President).
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The conference theme “Innovation and Collaborations” was explored in
depth over two days of technical sessions, panel discussions, and
networking. Leaders in valuation, construction, property taxation, land
administration, real estate, and finance shared expertise and
perspectives, highlighting how the surveying profession contributes to
sustainable economic development for both people and planet.
FIG President Diane Dumashie was invited by
Paul Sanderson (IPTI President), Michael Zuriff
(Senior Public Affairs Officer, RICS), and Michael
Hardman (Chair of the
RICS Americas World Board) to contribute to panel discussions
alongside distinguished speakers.
The programme featured keynote address from Tracy Polius
(Eastern Caribbean
Central Bank) on impact of macro economics in the region, and other
noteworthy contributions covering land, valuation and construction from
Greg Martino (MPAC
- Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, Canada), Celsus
Baptiste (Land Administration Consultant, St. Lucia),
Joseph F. M. Major (JM
Appraisers Ltd., Bahamas), and others.
Alignment with FIG’s Global Agenda
The deliberations aligned closely with FIG’s four-year work plan,
commissions, and task force activities. The programme combined technical
valuation and construction topics but above all, with broader
discussions on leadership, ethics, standards, and the future of the
profession.
The technical program was driven by the Caribbean nations need to
accelerate efforts to modernize infrastructure, improve land management
systems, and strengthen climate resilience, the conference served as a
catalyst for innovation and collaboration. Sustainability was a
recurring theme, with contributions from Nolan Aikins
(Jamaica) on geodesy and Michelle St. Clair (Jamaica)
on modernizing land administration processes in Barbados and Saint
Lucia.
Beyond technical expertise, the conference emphasized leadership,
ethics, and professional standard. This is a key thread in the FIG
agenda. Accordingly, FIG President Diane Dumashie was invited to
contribute to two dedicated panels:
- Leadership and Ethics. Chair: Michael Zuriff, RICS,
USA.
- The Future of the Industry. Chair: Uche Oba,
Director, Cayman Islands Government.
First, the panel on standard of ethics with Greg Martino
(Vice President and Chief Valuation Officer, Valuation and Assessment
Standards, MPAC, Canada) and Donna VanderVries (President, IAAO).
FIG President D. Dumashie contributed:
- To highlight the ethical challenges of data interpretation
and the importance of transparency in valuation. Promoting the work of
FIG Commission 9
(on Valuation and the Management of Real Estate) that is
advancing the conversation on transparency and geodata in real estate by
collaborating with International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC)
and RICS to integrate data governance and AI into appraisal practices.
The goal is to strengthen credibility and consistency through harmonized
standards.
- To reaffirm that ethics as the foundational standard of
professional practice, anchors behaviour and ensuring public trust. That
we work to ‘the public interest’ as referenced in the FIG Statement of
Ethical Principles and Model Code of Professional Conduct (FIG
Publication #17) and the work of
FIG Commission 1 (on
Professional Standards and Practice) continues to advance this agenda, emphasizing the profession’s
duty to serve the public interest.
Leadership perspectives were further enriched by Jill
Urban-Karr (Sr. Business Development Manager,
ESRI -
FIG Platinum Member) in a Land Administration presentation that
highlighted the role of GIS in valuation and leadership. As
FIG
Commission 10 Chair, Mercy Iyortyer from Nigeria, noted:
- Leadership and ethics are the twin pillars that uphold
excellence in our industry. Leadership provides vision and direction;
ethics ensures integrity, fairness, and responsibility.
Presenting Jill Urban-Karr (USA), Sr. Business Development Manager, Land Administration, ESRI
(Environmental Systems Research Institute)
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Second, the panel on the future of the industry panel focused on
workforce challenges, particularly recruitment, diversity, and
retention.
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Panel "Future of the profession" led by Uche Obi, Director of the Cayman
Islands Government
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FIG President D. Dumashie contributed:
- Recruitment: The next generation is seeking purposeful
careers that contribute to society. The Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), which sit at the heart of FIG’s agenda, offer a
powerful framework to attract and inspire young professionals, as
was presented by FIG Plenary speaker Kenneth Norre,
CEO of LE34
in Denmark, at the
FIG Working Week Brisbane 2025. The SDGs clearly articulate the
social responsibility of surveyors and the tangible impact we make
across the land, built, and natural environments.
- The FIG community has reinforced this throughout the current
term, particularly through the SDG Task Force. We must amplify this
message - our profession genuinely makes a difference, and it is
time we say so with confidence.
- Diversity: FIG has taken a leading role such as
promoting inclusivity across generation through the
FIG Task Force on Evolutionary Diversity and Inclusion, and
members serving as STEM ambassadors in countries such as Australia,
USA, and the Bahamas.
- Retention: While FIG does not recruit directly, it
fosters best practices through mentoring programs and succession
planning together with
FIG
Council innovations that include young surveyors on the Board.
National member associations, for example the National Council of
Italian Surveyors, have also advanced education and support
initiatives and others.
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Role of Professional Bodies presented by FIG
and RICS representatives.
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The discussion emphasized preparing NextGen leaders for a world of
increased transparency and accountability. Strong ethical frameworks are
essential to guide professionals in navigating greater scrutiny and
vulnerability.
Global Collaboration and Closing Reflections
The conference highlighted the far-reaching impact when the
profession joins together to share global to local outreach and
practices, demonstrating the value of global collaboration. As the event
concluded, the participants expressed gratitude for the opportunity to
share knowledge and strengthen professional networks.
The 12th Caribbean Valuation & Construction Conference was more than a
professional gathering—it was a catalyst for innovation, collaboration,
and leadership in the surveying profession. By addressing technical
advancements, as well as ethical standards, and workforce development,
the conference reinforced the profession’s pivotal role in shaping
sustainable futures for the Caribbean and beyond.
Post script remarks from FIG President Diane Dumashie
- While the next conference is scheduled to take place in
Jamaica in 2026, immediate afterward the 12th conference, Jamaica, along
with Haiti and Cuba was struck by Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm
to strike the Caribbean in modern history.
- On behalf of the FIG community, I wish to express our
deepest sympathy to the Jamaican, Haitian and Cuban community at this
challenging time. We recognise that the Caribbean surveying
professionals will be especially engaged as these islands undertakes its
recovery efforts. The global surveying community stands in solidarity
with our colleagues across the region, and we send our sincere best
wishes for their swift and successful recovery.
FIG President Diane Dumashie, RICS
Published 22 December 2025
