Aruban Nation Builder Suzette Dumfries brings Government, all sectors, investors, civil organizations, and San Nicolas residents together to present an integral development plan and structure.
San Nicolas will become the center of an unprecedented national development process. During the first “Forum on the Future of San Nicolas,” Suzette Dumfries will present the results of five years of in-depth research in and about San Nicolas, which have culminated in a vision, direction, and concrete development plan for the city.
The Forum is an initiative of Suzette Dumfries, supported by CEDE Aruba and PKF Dutch Caribbean & Suriname in Aruba. For the first time, a process is being organized that brings together the Government, Parliament, public institutions, the financial sector, insurance companies, investors, entrepreneurs, property owners, civil organizations, professionals, youth, and residents of San Nicolas to understand the complete reality of the city and the necessary direction for its future.
Suzette Dumfries is a Nation Builder and a development and cultural economist. Over the past five years, she has researched the economic, social, cultural, historical, spatial, and institutional reality of San Nicolas. Now, she brings together research, the voice of the community, and all relevant stakeholders with the goal of presenting an integral development plan and structure for San Nicolas.
The “Forum on the Future of San Nicolas” is not just another meeting to talk solely about revitalization. It is the beginning of a national development process that starts with evidence, presents the reality and voice of San Nicolas, and then translates this into a concrete plan, an implementation structure, and a path for execution.
“San Nicolas does not need another promise, another separate project, or another conversation without continuity. San Nicolas needs a clear direction, an integral plan, and a structure that can turn the plan into action,” said Suzette Dumfries.
The five phases of the forum
The “Forum on the Future of San Nicolas” consists of five phases. The first two phases will be completed in August 2026.
*Phase 1 (August 11, 12, and 13, 2026): Dumfries will present the results of five years of independent research. Over three nights, the public will gain a deep insight into how San Nicolas reached its current situation, which formal and informal economic systems operate in the city, what structural barriers hold back development, and which assets, talents, properties, culture, and opportunities remain unexploited. The research shows the connection between history, economy, employment, entrepreneurship, commerce, property, housing, security, migration, exploitation, culture, identity, public space, investment, and access to capital. It will also present what residents, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders have consistently expressed about the future they want for San Nicolas: the Voice of San Nicolas.
“For five years I have studied San Nicolas from the inside out. I have seen its history, its economy, its communities, its vulnerabilities, and its potential. The time has come to place the complete evidence before San Nicolas and Aruba, without romanticizing it, without simplifying it, and without masking what is uncomfortable,” Dumfries declared.
*Phase 2 – The Civic Forum (August 20, 21, and 22, 2026): Dumfries will present the proposal for a vision, a development direction, and an Integral Regional Plan for San Nicolas. The plan will translate five years of research into a coherent direction connecting economy, spatial planning, social development, culture, heritage, security, housing, institutions, investment, financing, and implementation. In addition to the plan, an integral development structure will be presented, showing how the process can be organized, coordinated, financed, and executed, while discussing priority areas, institutional responsibilities, and the necessary route to move from planning to realization.
“Research without a plan remains just a description. A plan without research becomes a supposition. But a plan without a structure cannot be executed either. This process unites evidence, plan, and structure,” Dumfries said.
The future of San Nicolas and Aruba
The future of San Nicolas cannot be separated from the future of Aruba. What happens in San Nicolas affects employment, commerce, investment, property, housing, security, culture, social cohesion, and the economic development of the entire country. Therefore, Suzette Dumfries brings all stakeholders and San Nicolas residents together in a single process.
“The goal is not for every participant to agree with every element of the plan. The goal is for each actor to be informed, understand the evidence, and clearly see what role they can play in the future of San Nicolas,” Dumfries elaborates.
“San Nicolas cannot be developed without San Nicolas. But San Nicolas cannot be developed by itself either. Government, the private sector, financial institutions, investors, civil organizations, and the community must enter the process and understand their responsibility,” she emphasizes. The presence of San Nicolas residents is especially important: “If San Nicolas is not present, others will continue to speak for San Nicolas. That cannot continue. San Nicolas must show up, listen, speak, and participate.”
Practical information and collaborative initiatives
The “Forum on the Future of San Nicolas” is completely free, but registration is mandatory.
*Registration for the presentation of research results (August 11, 12, and 13, 2026) is available via: https://www.suzettedumfries.com/sannicolas.
*A separate link for the Civic Forum (August 20, 21, and 22, 2026) will be announced soon.
About the organizers and supporters:
*Suzette Dumfries: Nation Builder, development and cultural economist, and psychological anthropologist with international experience in economic development, institutional transformation, leadership, and nation-building. Her work focuses on how economy, culture, human behavior, institutions, financial systems, and power structures influence the development of communities and countries.
*CEDE Aruba: Supports initiatives and programs contributing to community strengthening, social participation, and sustainable development in Aruba, making the research and participatory process accessible to the community and stakeholders.
*PKF Dutch Caribbean & Suriname in Aruba: Boutique financial services firm offering audit, tax, accounting, and business advisory services. Launched in July 2023 at L.G. Smith Boulevard 64 in Oranjestad and led by managing partners Edsel Lopez and Herbert van Elferen, the firm supports a process connecting research with economic development, investment, financing, and implementation.
