Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Junior Mas offers a powerful model of informal and experiential learning. Through participation, children engage with Trinidad and Tobago’s history, mythology, environmental themes, and socio-political narratives. They gain skills in:

• Teamwork and collaboration (designing and performing as a group)
• Creative expression (costume design, dance, music)
• Cultural literacy (understanding mas traditions and storytelling)
• Confidence and public speaking (through performance)

Junior Mas acts as an alternative classroom — one where children learn by doing, performing, and belonging. This hands-on model is critical for learners who may not thrive in traditional academic settings.

Promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.
The Junior Mas sector sustains a complex web of microenterprises, including:

• Seamstresses and tailors
• Wire benders and costume builders
• Makeup artists, stylists, and choreographers
• Photographers, DJs, truck drivers, and event coordinators

Despite often being undervalued, Junior Mas is a seasonal economic engine that supports livelihoods, particularly among women and low-income artisans. Acknowledging and investing in this ecosystem can formalize jobs, increase income security, and stimulate innovation in the creative economy.

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.
Junior Mas is a key pillar of cultural sustainability. It promotes:

• Community pride and identity through local band formation
• Youth inclusion in civic life
• Urban revitalization, particularly in inner-city and underserved communities where mas camps are located
• Intergenerational exchange, as elders pass on traditions and skills

By embedding culture into the urban fabric, Junior Mas enhances social cohesion and creates safer, more inclusive environments for young people to express themselves.