Delegates pushing for inter-regional SIDS Youth Network

Youth delegates in attendance at the recently held three-day Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Conference held at the Hilton Barbados Hotel, are desirous of setting up an inter-regional SIDS Youth Network to continue to lobby for some of the recommendations they have put forward to decision-makers, on behalf of youth in their regions.

The youth delegates represent youth from across three SIDS regions – the Caribbean, the Pacific and the AIMS (Atlantic, Indian, Mediterranean and South China Seas). The nine youth representatives from Maldives, Comoros, Mauritius, Samoa, Fiji Islands, Dominica and Barbados, were selected from 70 youth participants from 30 SIDS countries, to share at the Inter-regional Preparatory Meeting in Barbados.

“We, the delegates from the three SIDS regions representing the voices of young people from SIDS, have a vision: a self-sustaining, climate resilient, peaceful, healthy, inclusive, democratic and transparent society, where all young people are empowered as equal partners in global efforts for sustainable development,” the delegates noted.

“We endorse and support the comments by the Honourable Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister of Barbados, with respect to the inclusion of youth specific recommendations in the Outcomes Document of this Meeting,” they stressed.

“Moreover, we have facilitated dialogue and have identified six areas as being critical to the livelihoods of youth, considering the diversity among us, yet acknowledging our common vulnerabilities. These six areas are: Good Governance and Youth Participation; Health; Climate Change and Biodiversity; Water; Education, Entrepre-neurship and Employ-ment and also Science and Technology,” they added.

“We the SIDS Youth commit to setting up an inter-regional SIDS Youth Network and request the support and collaboration from UN Agencies, regional agencies and other key stakeholders. This network will provide a platform for youth of the three SIDS regions to collaborate on strategies and projects and be effective advocates for SIDS within international processes related to sustainable development,” the delegates pledged.

Such a network is needed they indicated, to ensure that their recommendations do not fall by the wayside and so the youth can further work together to bring about change in their three SIDS regions.

Alex Cumberbatch is the SIDS Youth Representative for Barbados and the rest of the SIDS team is as follows: Rihanna Gonsalves from Trinidad and Tobago, Rishtha Ali from Maldives, Emily Erasito of Fiji, Jahisiah Benoit of Dominica, Brianna Fruean of Samoa, Rochelle Lashley from Barbados, Karuna Runa of Mauritius and Ben Anthoy Bacar Moussa of Comoros. (RSM)

Parliament prorogued

By Linda Straker

THE Keith Mitchell-led administration of the New National Party, which was elected on February 19, 2013, has concluded its first session of the Ninth Parliament.

Governor-General, Her Excellency Dame Cecile La Grenade, GCMG, by a Proclamation dated August 28, 2013, prorogued the First Session of the Ninth Parliament of Grenada with effect from September 2, 2013.

During the session, a number of bills were approved by both Houses. The most controversial of these were the Electronic Crimes Bill, which was at one time withdrawn and the Citizenship by Investment Bill, which were both among the last batch of bills to be approved by the Senate when it had its concluding session on August 21.

A number of questions, especially those submitted by Ray Roberts, Labour Representative in the Senate, were also unanswered and he had sought permission from the President to print the questions in the local newspapers.

A date is yet to be set for the opening of the second session, but it is expected to resume during the month of October with the ceremonial opening of the Throne Speech from the Governor-General.

This will be the first Throne Speech by Dame Cecile La Grenade as she was appointed after the opening of the first session. Former Governor-General, Sir Carlyle Glean, delivered the Throne Speech for the First Session of the Ninth Parliament.

The ceremonial speech outlines the plans and programmes expected to be undertaken by Government for the parliamentary year. Following the ceremonial opening, the next significant parliamentary activity will be the presentation of the 2014 Budget, which Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell, who is also Minister of Finance, has promised will be delivered in early December.

Moravian Church to commemorate 3rd anniversary with regional retreat

AS Grenadians prepare to recall the memories of Hurricane Ivan on September 7, 2013, a religious group which came to Grenada offering spiritual and other support in the aftermath of the disaster will also be commemorating it presence in the island.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in 2004, a team from the Moravian Church in Tobago visited Grenada to encourage and provide support to the recovery efforts. They were directed to the rural village of Mt. Tranquil in St. David, where the residents subsequently felt the need to have them continue to visit on a regular basis, and between 2004 and 2007, various Moravian missionary trips were made to that community.

In addition, the Moravian Youth on Fire of Tobago planned their annual Carnival weekend retreat for Grenada in February, 2007 as a means of following up on the previous efforts. Effectively, from that period, the Moravians began hosting yearly Vacation Bible School, Open Air Services, and visits to several schools presenting cultural items about pertinent ills affecting Caribbean islands. Emanating from these trips was the need to start Bible Study sessions with some families in the area.

The church was registered to function legally in Grenada from 2008. Consequently, the mission trips escalated, and on Sunday, September 19, 2010, the first Sunday morning worship was conducted at one of the members’ unfinished house.

By January, 2011, the member moved into her house and offered her former house for all church activities.

In August, 2011, a parcel of land was leased to erect a temporary structure for worship and other church related activities. On September 4, 2011, the building project began with the help of the men of the area.

On January 15, 2012, two missionaries from the Moravian Church Tobago Conference were appointed to be stationed in Grenada permanently.

The Moravian Church Eastern West Indies Province, which comprises United States Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbados, Trinidad, Tobago and the recently formed Grenada Mission, have chosen to hold their annual staff retreat in Grenada from September 14-18, 2013. It means that the 44 member staff from these jurisdictions will soon be in Grenada to emphasise its calling, and enlighten the general public about the Moravians and their efforts to win souls for Christ in Grenada and the wider Caribbean.

The Mission will celebrate its third anniversary of Sunday worship on September 15, 2013 at their chapel in Mount Tranquil from 9 a.m. (LS)

Small Island Developing States urged to find sustainable solutions

THE need for world leaders to take decisive action to reduce poverty and put the world on a sustainable and equitable development path was stressed this week by UNDP Associate Administrator, Rebecca Grynspan.

Her call came as the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) prepare for their Third International Conference in Samoa.

In her opening remarks at the interregional preparatory meeting at Hilton Barbados, she emphasised that rapid environmental degradation, climate change and growing inequalities needed immediate attention.

Ms. Grynspan highlighted that while SIDS have made significant strides towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in health, education, gender equality and water and sanitation, action must be taken to address pollution, rising sea levels, ocean acidification and biodiversity loss. She said: “These are problems that SIDS, in most cases, have done very little to cause and that exacerbate structural vulnerabilities on top of the normal challenges developing countries already face.”

Speaking to close to two hundred delegates from over forty countries, she explained that while these challenges were recognised by member states in Rio and it was agreed that environmental, social and economic objectives must be pursued simultaneously, the concept has not yet been put into action.

Ms. Grynspan said that the time has come to turn promises into action, making the 2014 Apia Conference in Samoa a vehicle for global action, and urged SIDS to “continue to be effective leaders and role models, demonstrating in practice the change they want to see.”

According to Ms. Grynspan, the Samoa conference could also build on the commitment from leaders to increase support for SIDS, which would help to generate the financing, technology and support it needs, and influence the post 2015-development agenda as well. (TL)

Tackling climate change a matter of survival

CLIMATE change is no theoretical discussion for many Small Island Developing States (SIDS), but a matter of survival.

Making this position very clear, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Associate Administrator, Rebeca Grynspan, stressed that any inaction would threaten lives, livelihoods and hard fought for developmental gains.

“We have learnt from our work with all of you and understand that sustainable development is not an option, but the only way forward,” she asserted, while addressing the Inter-Regional Preparatory Meeting of SIDS at the Hilton Barbados.

Speaking ahead of next year’s conference in Apia, Samoa, she stated that SIDS must use the Apia conference “to signal again that they won’t wait for action, but will continue to be effective leaders and role models, demonstrating in practice the change they want to see”.

“The message to other leaders is clear and compelling: Nobody should wait to do the right thing,” she continued.

Global action

Grynspan opined that Apia should be used as a vehicle for global action, pointing out that increasing interdependence would result in the smallest and most vulnerable countries bearing the brunt of events outside their control, unless action was taken at scale.

“Leaders in Rio agreed this was unjust and called for stepped up support for SIDS. In Apia, SIDS can build on this agreement, and the momentum going into 2015, to help generate the financing, technology and support SIDS need, and at the same time influence the post 2015 development agenda,” she stressed.

Furthermore, she observed that next year’s conference would help SIDS combine diverse actors around initiatives that would trigger long-term sustainable development.

 “As described in the Synthesis Report prepared for this meeting, supporting the ‘blue economy’ could – for example – help SIDS carve a niche in the global economy, while protecting and harnessing the oceans to develop fisheries, build tourism and identify new resources,” she added. (JMB)

Samoa will be time for action

NEXT year’s SIDS conference in Samoa must be one that takes a clear path of action on the myriad of issues affecting these countries.

UN Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Associate Administrator, Rebeca Grynspan, outlined that waste, pollution, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss were growing threats to food security and sustainable livelihoods, growth opportunities, tourism and health.

“These are problems that SIDS, in most cases, have done very little to cause, and that exacerbate structural vulnerabilities on top of the normal challenges developing countries already face. To generate the political commitment and international support needed to tackle these challenges, Apia will need to be far more than a review conference.

“UNDP, together with the Inter Agency Consultative Group, is committed to supporting your preparations, to realise – as called for by the General Assembly – an outcome that is ‘focused, forward-looking and action oriented,’” she remarked.

She made the comments while delivering her remarks at the Inter-Regional Preparatory Meeting of SIDS at the Hilton Barbados.

Mutual accountability

Speaking on actions being taken on development on the international front, she outlined that next year’s conference in Apia, Samoa could help SIDS build on this momentum, by not only engaging citizens in this path, breaking global conversation to influence the future development agenda, but by getting out ahead through setting concrete targets and systems for mutual accountability, that can fit within the future framework.

With SIDS being world leaders in the commitments to cut 45 per cent in emissions within the next 17 years, she said that this figure was considerably higher than the pledges of the world’s richest countries.

“SIDS are also out ahead in terms of trilateral and South-South Co-operation. SIDS have much to teach each other and the world about policies linking growth and social protection, with initiatives to protect biodiversity and rebuild after disasters,” she noted. (JMB)

Project launched to promote C’bean region as spa and wellness destination

IN AN effort to promote the Caribbean as a destination for health and wellness, the Development and Promotion of the Caribbean Health and Wellness Tourism Sector Project has been launched.

This is according to Valarie Pilgrim, Operations Officer at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), who delivered remarks at the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Launch at the Radisson Aquatica Resort last Wednesday.

“A key expected result of the health and wellness project is the improved positioning of the Caribbean as a health and wellness tourism destination. This project supports and is closely aligned to a number of national and regional objectives. These include the export diversification and increased inward investment; promoting Caribbean regional co-operation and increased competitiveness of private sector enterprises, particularly micro and small enterprises.”

She said that this is important because this sector has been identified as a key sector for economic growth, especially for women who are heavily involved in this industry.

“Health and wellness has been identified as one of the region’s growth sectors. The sector features a high percentage of women entrepreneurs and its products and services contribute directly to the health and well-being of its largely female client base. The project is therefore directly aligned to the Caribbean Development Bank’s strategic objectives, which include promoting broad-based economic growth and inclusive social development; fostering regional co-operation and integration and promoting gender equality.”

It is a part of the Regional Spa and Wellness Strategy which the CDB will fully support, she pledged.
“This regional Spa and Wellness Sector Strategy is intended to be a working document. We are committed to not just the development of the strategy but, more importantly, its implementation. The Bank therefore looks forward to the next steps, which will focus on implementation using the resources provided by the CartFund and mobilising additional resources to support the implementation process.”

She said that various stakeholder organisations have also lent their support to this initiative. These include the “Department for International Development for providing the resources for implementation; the many spa and wellness enterprises which provided invaluable inputs into the development of the strategy; the Caribbean Export Development Agency as the executing agency and the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Association (CSWA), the regional umbrella sector association which has worked arm in arm with Caribbean Export to obtain project funding and to implement this project”.

The respective spa and wellness associations in the various regional islands; the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ); the Caribbean Tourism Organisation; various tourism boards, Ministries of Tourism, standard bureaus and service coalitions in the various islands and the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus are some of the other organisations which have lent their support, she stated. (PT)