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Policy Consultation at the Office of Disaster Management (ODM), Dominica. Pictured are (left to right): Mr. Cecil Shillingford, Consultant with the ODM; Mr. Fitzroy Pascal, National Disaster Coordinator, ODM; Mr. David Maximea, National Focal Point on the MSSP Project from the Ministry of Education, Dominica, Dr. Winston McCalla, Policy Expert; and Mrs. Eleanor Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Environmental Solutions Limited. Not pictured are Dr. Kerry-Ann Thompson, Consultant Project Coordinator of the MSSP Project, CDEMA and Ms. Danielle Nembhard, Assistant Project Manager at Environmental Solutions Limited.
Roseau, Dominica, May 20, 2019 – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis have commenced consultations toward the development of a National Safe School Policy. The Consultations are being held over a two week period, from May 13 – 24, 2019. The National Safe School Policy will provide the context for the amendment of existing legislation to integrate Disaster Risk Reduction and environmental protection measures for schools in the implementing countries.
Technical support for the Consultations is being provided by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) through Environmental Solutions Limited (Jamaica) under the project titled, The Implementation of the Model Safe School Programme in the Caribbean (also known as the MSSP Project). The goal of the Model Safe School Programme for CDEMA Participating States is to create safe, secure/protective and green educational institutions from pre-primary to tertiary levels, including public and private institutions through the development of simple, applicable and adaptable tools.
This first-stage of policy consultations was designed to garner stakeholder participation and consensus building within the national context. A number of key stakeholders have already been targeted in Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica including the National Safe School Programme Committee, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, the Chief Education Officer, teachers, District Education Officers, the Labour Commissioner and Early Childhood and Special Needs Units within the education ministry.
In Dominica, a courtesy call was made to Mr. Fitzroy Pascal, National Disaster Coordinator of the Office of Disaster Management (ODM), where the work of the ODM toward the safe school mandate was highlighted. In the context of the deep involvement of the ODM in Safe School initiatives in the past, Dr. Winston McCalla, Key Policy Expert, emphasised the integral role that the ODM plays in supporting the National Safe School Policy and in the functioning of the National Safe School Programme Committee. The National Safe School Programme Committee serves as the nucleus for promoting and implementing Safe Schools as a Programme within the Ministry of Education in Dominica, as well as in Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia.
Mrs. Eleanor Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Environmental Solutions Limited and Disaster Risk Management Specialist on the assignment indicated that consultations to date have revealed the centrality of the education sector to disaster resilience at the community level, the vast number of lessons to be learned in the aftermath of the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the need for psychosocial support in the aftermath of hazard events, and the need for policy considerations in relation to the use of schools as shelters.
Environmental Solutions Limited will also be in the targeted countries during the stated period to conduct school assessments.
About the Implementation of the Model Safe School Programme in the Caribbean
The CDEMA Coordinating Unit has received grant funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to the amount of EUR 746,000 to implement the Model Safe School Programme toolkit in Antigua and Barbuda and five other countries: Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Implementation of the Model Safe School Programme in the Caribbean (MSSP Project) was designed to, among other things, enhance the capacity of the six target CARICOM states to incorporate and mainstream comprehensive risk and disaster management considerations into education sector policies, planning and operations.
In addition to the development of National Safe School Policies for each state, the components of the intervention consist of: conducting school assessments in 33 schools across the targeted states; preparing individual costed action plans for reducing or eliminating the risks identified during the school assessments; developing an electronic application for the collection of safety and green data during school assessments; reviewing, elaborating and enhancing a building condition assessment element tool; and providing training for 90 local public professional across the six targeted CARICOM states.
Funding is being provided under the African Caribbean Pacific-European Union-Caribbean Development Bank Natural Disaster Risk Management (ACP-EU-CDB NDRM) in CARIFORUM Countries Programme.
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, May 1, 2019 – Five (5) countries: Curacao, Grenada, Jamaica, Sint Marteen and Suriname adhered to the Caribbean Safe School Initiative and adopt the Antigua and Barbuda Declaration on School Safety during the 2nd Caribbean Safe School Ministerial Forum. The forum was held from April 29 to 30, 2019 in Kingstown and hosted by the Ministry of Education, National Reconciliation, Ecclesiastical Affairs and Information.
In 2017, 12 countries adhered to the initiative and signed the Antigua and Barbuda Declaration on School Safety in the Caribbean. At the second Ministerial Forum, ten Ministers of Education, officials in the education sector as well as disaster management stakeholders, regional and international partners participated in technical discussions on school safety and updated the Regional RoadMap for School Safety.
The Minister of Education, National Reconciliation and Information of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Minister St. Clair Prince, commented in regard to the Caribbean Safe School Initiative that “The 2nd Ministerial Forum has served to renew the commitment to build the resilience of the education sector in the Caribbean region”. He also added that “I am also committed as the incoming chair for this forum to ensure that School Safety in the Caribbean remains a priority nationally, regionally and internationally”.
This second forum was also linked to a Youth Forum “My Island, My Life, which provided an opportunity for youth to add their voices and join the discussion on school safety and identify safety issues around the three pillars of the Comprehensive School Safety Framework: safe learning facilities (disaster-resilient infrastructure), school disaster management; and, disaster risk reduction and resilience education. The conclusions and recommendations of the Youth Forum were presented during the Ministerial Forum.
At the Forum closing Sint Marteen announced they will host the 3rd Caribbean Safe School Ministerial Forum in 2021 and British Virgin Islands (BVI) will be hosting the 4th Forum in 2023.
The Caribbean is a region of high exposure to multiple natural hazards including hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, windstorms, tsunamis, landslides and droughts. Vulnerability combined with exposure to such hazards can serve to drastically undermine poverty reduction strategies, hinder development gains and jeopardize educational systems. Such events, if left unmitigated, can lead to devastating consequences to a nation’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing.
The importance of school safety had also been long acknowledged in the Caribbean. The 2014-2024 Comprehensive Disaster Management strategy calls for increased and sustained knowledge management and learning for Comprehensive Disaster Management, as well as standardization and improvement of educational and training materials.
The 2nd Caribbean Ministerial Forum was the result of a partnership between the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operation (ECHO), UNICEF, GADRRRES, OECS, UNESCO, U NISDR and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).
Kingston, Jamaica – As the Caribbean enters the official 2018 hurricane season, the Disaster Risk Reduction Centre of the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) at the University of the West Indies is set to pilot the first of two courses as part of a new online Disaster Risk Management graduate programme.
Targeting the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) community, this will be the first in a series of such offerings to equip the practitioners and policymakers across the Caribbean with the skills required to help make the region more adequately prepared for and resilient to disasters.
The initial Community-based Disaster Resilience pilot was held from June 12 – 15, 2018 in Barbados while the Communications for Disaster Risk Management offering will be piloted in Jamaica July 2-3, 2018.
Dr Carby is at the centre. to her left is Dr. David Smith, Director of the UWI’s Institute for Sustainable Development at UWI (Mona) and to her right is Dr. Leith Dunn of the Institute for Development and Gender Studies (Mona unit)
Director of the UWI’s Disaster Risk Reduction Centre(DRRC) Dr Barbara Carby explains that this initiative is a direct response to the pressing need for more effective and timely percolation of existing knowledge to those who can make a real difference in creating a safer and more resilient Caribbean.
“Globally, the problem has been that despite the mountain of accumulated knowledge, losses as a result of natural disasters have continued to mount.”, she said. One possible reason, she admits is the lack of a functional flow of information between the creators of new insights within the scientific community and those who create and implement public DRM policy. “The fact that scientists are producing facts, data information, knowledge… does not mean that this is driven by policy or development needs. We might be producing something quite esoteric, which is great for theoretical knowledge, but in practical terms, nobody else really has an interest in it… so increasingly we must ensure that the research we do solves real problems.
It was this clear gap that gave rise to the ‘Enhancing Knowledge and Application of Comprehensive Disaster Management (EKACDM) Initiative, a five-year project funded by Global Affairs Canada, and housed at the ISD. It is essentially a knowledge management project in which aims to facilitate the direct application of knowledge to improving DRM policy and practice.
Dr Carby who is also Co-Principal Investigator of the EKACDM Initiative argues that apart from creating new and more directly relevant knowledge, success depends on a participatory and multi-disciplinary approach. “What we need to do is create champions who will take the responsibility of translating that science to all the critical stakeholders to better secure the future of the region by making is more resilient to hazards, and ultimately minimizing the impact of natural disasters.”
One key function of the EKACDM Initiative is to support the implementation of the regional Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Framework 2014-2024 of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) by helping to train key personnel in the public and private sectors, and civil society groups.
Fifty (50) participants from across the region have been invited to participate in the review of the courses through the piloting exercise.
The Dominica Library and Information Service (DLIS) is observing Library Week 2018 from May 14 to 18 under the theme, ‘Notwithstanding, We Continue to Serve.’
As Dominica recovers from the impact of Hurricane Maria the focus is on the essential role of libraries in the rebuilding effort, the role of libraries as safe spaces for vulnerable groups and the response of the DLIS to support the information needs of citizens post disaster.
Major activities include informative sessions using online magazines and other e-resources, an online exhibition of the DLIS journey post Hurricane Maria, recognition of donors and Disaster Preparedness Day to be observed on Thursday May 17, 2018.
Due to the passage of Hurricane Maria the Library Service lost over twenty five thousand volumes of books and ninety-five per cent of its furniture and equipment. All service points of the DLIS were impacted with the Roseau Public Library and the Portsmouth Library sustaining extensive damages to physical structure. The roof of the Documentation Centre building that housed the National Archives sustained flood damage and a number of records sustained water damage.
Since then the DLIS has resumed services at the National Documentation Centre, National Archives Unit, the Portsmouth Library at Portsmouth Secondary School, the Roseau Public Library at the Documentation Centre Building providing reference, Internet, computer, and homework assistance and circulation of books to the general public, the Portsmouth Mobile Library on Bay Street, the Grand Bay Public Library at the Grand Bay Community Center and the Marigot Library located upstairs the village pharmacy.
The DLIS has also conducted an Art Therapy Workshop, sessions on Information Skills for Grade 6 students, a CARBICA Post Hurricane Consultancy & Workshop and provided technical assistance to school libraries.
Other new services launched by the DLIS in the past year include a new barcode-readable Membership Card, personal online accounts that contain reader history and the ability to reserve books and update accounts and access to E-Resources, online magazines and databases.
In the upcoming months the DLIS hopes to complete rehabilitation of the Portsmouth Library and re-establish sustainable services, reintroduce internet and computer services at the Marigot and Grand Bay branches, advance efforts to build a safer, modern and resilient Public Library in Roseau, continue the archival collection digitization project, enhance service provision to support students’ research needs through E-library platforms and enhance capacity of staff through training and specialization.
The Library Service wishes to thank the organizations and groups that supported its operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The Getty Foundation donated $55, 000.00 and the Belize Development Corporation $23,983.93 towards restoration of Portsmouth Library, the Noble Caledonia Charitable Trust donated $60, 376.50, the Joshua-Jelly-Schapiro & Friends, $1, 162.10 and the Friends of Jamaica, $3, 000.00. The DLIS also received a grant of $6, 460.14 from the Caribbean Association of Archives (CARBICA) for placement of UV protected glass windows at the National Archives Unit, $24, 605.56 worth of equipment and materials from the American Embassy, Barbados to support the American Corner, replacement of the Consolidated Index Stock by the UWI Cave Hill Campus, 1000 books from Mr Peter Dick and Friends of the United Kingdom and 2,131 from Book Aid International. An additional 1374 books were received through Private and Organisation donations and friends of the DLIS.
By Elias Leah Shillingford, DAWU – Acting General Secretary
Brothers and Sisters,
A few years ago, my message to you was entitled, “ LEST WE FORGET”. In that message I called upon us to NOT FORGET, May Day, which is celebrated every year as, “International Workers’ Day, meaning that it is a Universal Day of Work stoppage.
Today, I look back at the most powerful expression of a movement which occurred at the first International Workers Congress in 1889. At that Congress four hundred (400) delegates who were in attendance decided that the eight-hour day would be the first demand on their agenda. I note the determination of the delegates as they worked together to achieve their goals. In the end, they succeeded. I say this to inform us of the fact that a Trade Union Congress is very important for the achievement of a better working environment for any people and nation, but more importantly, the “power of agreement”.
Throughout the years, trade Unions around the world have been working together to achieve major advances in workers’ rights. They have demonstrated successes through strength of unity. With the application of a similar approach to cooperation, collaboration or even alliance, Trade Unions in Dominica could deliver results that would have a lasting impact on the lives of Dominican workers and their families. There is much more to be gained out of unity as opposed to isolation. The benefits would accrue to the workers and that is the ultimate goal of unions established to serve the people. Let us embrace the “strength in unity.
Many years ago, I sat in meetings with Anthony Frederick Joseph, the first General Secretary, and founder of the Dominica Amalgamated Workers Union, on the topic – A Trade Union Congress. Today, we are at the same juncture, as the past, with still no agreement to a TUC. Recently three (3) of us (Union Leaders), met on two separate occasions to discuss the TUC, and have been able to agree on some matters, like the Agency Shop Ordinance, Redundancy payment and the ceiling, Subvention to the Labour Movement, as well as appointments to Chairman’s Panel. Despite these agreements, we are still not ready to form a TUC. This Union acknowledges that we need to do more, and I call on my fellow Union Leaders to give the TUC priority.
May Day celebrations in addition to other key activities, consultations and initiatives that can be undertaken jointly are lacking due to an absence of the TUC. For instance, there have been lost opportunities for joint Union response and action to Government’s request on consultations and solicitations on matters of Labour, and policies that would affect the Nation in general. These lost opportunities seriously demonstrate the need for a TUC.
Having said this, I believe that the time has come for the Trade Union Movement in Dominica to “re-strategize and restructure”. With the decline of serious activities over the past years, it is possible to conclude that we have lost ground, or even stopped in time.
Some of the successes of prior years were linked to the vibrancy of the trade union movement. I recall the years that we met at the Windsor Park, spending the day, listening to speech after speech from invitees and locals holding placards, shouting chants and singing songs. In the Caribbean we are now enjoying the results of these efforts, including the Collective Labour Agreement and ILO Conventions and the Decent Work mandate. Having achieved these milestones, it is important to NOT FORGET the significance of the May Day celebrations in honour of the work done and lives lost to get us where we are today. The Trade Union Leaders and Workers, in Dominica need to continue to appreciate the significance of this DAY and not allow it to pass unrecognized. A “re-strategize and restructured” labour union system with a TUC would allow for more action on May Day.
The Workers and Employers in Dominica now have Collective Labour Agreements to operate by, making it very easy for both parties to enjoy not only the forty (40) hours work week, but many other benefits. The Unions have good mandates for their members, and throughout the year, not only May Day, the Unions continue to look after the needs of their members. However, there should be an alliance among the Unions and without the TUC, some Employers take advantage of workers, violating the Collective Labour Agreements, and many times renege on promises made.
In honour of May Day and in light of some of the examples highlighted above, the Dominica Amalgamated Workers Union will arrange to speak with the “workers”, on Non Communicable Disease (NCD’s), from a Bible based perspective. This topic will biblically explain how the Spirit Soul and Body operates as one, and by extension maintain good health, success and prosperity.
The Workers will be informed of the date and time of the event.
PARAMARIBO, Suriname. May 2, 2018—Data privacy will be among the items topping the agenda at an upcoming Caribbean Internet Governance Forum to be held by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) in Suriname this month.
The meeting is part of an effort by several Caribbean countries to establish and strengthen policies to ensure that Internet users’ personal information is collected, shared and used in appropriate ways.
It will take place from May 21 to 23, days before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force in the European Union on May 25. The GDPR is a regulation on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union. But Caribbean stakeholders are already preparing for the fallout across the region’s geopolitical space.
“Although the GDPR comes into effect in Europe, its effect will be felt in the Caribbean, because the region includes Dutch, French and British territories, all of which fall under the EU jurisdiction, and will therefore have to comply with the GDPR from as early as May 25, 2018,” said Nigel Cassimire, Telecommunications Specialist at the CTU.
Because the GDPR has significant penalties for companies found in violation of its data privacy regulations, the law could adversely affect Caribbean companies doing business with European companies.
“The onus is on European companies doing business with anyone in our region to ensure that whoever they do business with have measures in place that will enable them to remain compliant with the GDPR. For the Caribbean, it is urgent for us to understand what requirements will be placed on us,” Cassimire said.
The forum will be held in Suriname, a former colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands which became an independent nation in 1975.
The agenda will include a range of issues, including service resiliency and network neutrality.
