San Nicolas Forum Launches Integrated Development Plan for Aruba City

Nation Builder and development economist Suzette Dumfries convened the first “Forum on the Future of San Nicolas” in Aruba, presenting five years of research on the city’s economic, social, cultural, historical, spatial and institutional realities. The forum, supported by CEDE Aruba and PKF Dutch Caribbean & Suriname, brings together the Aruban government, parliament, public institutions, the financial and insurance sectors, investors, entrepreneurs, property owners, civil‑society groups, professionals, youth and residents. Its aim is to turn San Nicolas into the centre of an unprecedented national development process. The forum is structured in five phases, with the first two scheduled for August 11‑13, 2026, during which Dumfries will detail the research findings, existing formal and informal economic systems, structural barriers and the city’s assets, talents and opportunities, and outline a concrete, implementable development plan.