By Admin. Updated 10:30 a.m., Monday, March 6, 2023, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Twenty-eight young women between the ages of 18-30 received training to be able to lead and serve their communities in the political sphere.
The women represented various communities across St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the 10-week training program called “LeadHership”.
According to a press release, the training was conducted by the Caribbean Democrat Union (CDU), in partnership with the Conservatives Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) Programme, The New Democratic Party (NDP) Women’s Arm, and The LeadHership Institute, and the UWI Open Campus Women and Development Unit (WAND).
“The leadership programme consisted of online training courses via ZoomTM; a special mentorship session with current and former NDP female parliamentarians held on February 18th; A Q&A session with two elected female MPs: Hon. Tracy Panton (Belize) and Hon. Emmalin Pierre (Grenada); and two days of face to face training held at the Beachcombers Hotel on Thursday March 2nd and Friday March 3rd, followed by a graduation ceremony where participants were presented with their certificates,” the press release stated.
“Regional Coordinator for the Conservatives WFD Programme in the Caribbean, Mr. Nick Francis, thanked the participants for making the commitment to attend the online courses and congratulated them on their high level of engagement. He also noted the importance of working together to ensure that women have an equal opportunity to lead and serve their communities in the political sphere,” the press release stated.
The remainder of the press release:
Ms. Laura Saunders, Head of the International Department, Conservatives WFD Programme, reiterated the need to empower more women to participate in politics and decision making and hopes that by providing the funding for these initiatives, democracies across the region will become more inclusive and responsive.
Facilitators of the LeadHership Programme included
Taitu Heron, Head of UWI Open Campus, Women and Development Unit (WAND)
Roshanna Trim, The LeadHership Institute
Melisa Belle, The LeadHership Institute
Jamie Lee Richards, The LeadHership Institute
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Mrs. Ronnia Durham-Balcombe, President of the NDP Women’s Arm, expressed her gratitude to the Conservatives WFD Programme, the CDU and The LeadHership Institute for providing this important opportunity to the young female participants and looks forward to working closely with these organizations to provide further capacity building initiatives.
President of the NDP, Dr. Hon. Godwin Friday, in his remarks at the graduation ceremony reiterated the party’s commitment to increasing women’s political participation and believes that women in the party will continue to make an important contribution to national development. Dr. Friday congratulated the young female participants and the entire organizing team for this wonderful initiative.
In her impact statement on behalf of the graduating class, Ms. Vakeesha John, noted that the training programme allowed participants to become more confident and to celebrate their own uniqueness. Vakeesha also noted that the opportunity to engage with female parliamentarians from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the region was indeed an exercise in female empowerment. One participant summarized the experience as “helping women to see that they have power within and embracing that power.”
One News St.Vincent 