MESSAGE FROM

DR. CARLA N. BARNETT

SECRETARY-GENERAL OF

THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)

ON

ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

8 March 2022

It is a distinct honour and pleasure for me to celebrate our women and girls across the Caribbean Community on International Women’s Day. Today is an opportunity to celebrate the important contributions and tireless service that women around the world give every day at home, in their communities and beyond, and in every sphere of life. We celebrate their many achievements and recognize the progress that has been made towards gender equality, while acknowledging that there is still much more work to be done. International Women’s Day provides an important platform to highlight the challenges women face in realizing their full human rights, and to engage men and boys as champions for gender equality.

The global theme for this year’s observance is “Gender Equality Today For A Sustainable Tomorrow.” It recognizes the contribution of women and girls around the world who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation and response, to build a more sustainable future for all. Achieving gender equality in the context of the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction is one of the urgent global challenges of the 21st century.

Climate change will continue to have severe and lasting impacts on our environment, and therefore on our economic and social development. The most vulnerable and marginalised among us, including indigenous and rural women, experience the most severe effects. According to UN Women, women constitute 70% of the world’s poor and are more likely to work or live on marginal lands and in informal settlements. Further, women’s capacity to cope with the shocks of climate events is further limited by gender inequalities and cultural norms in relation to gender roles, which often restrict women’s decision-making in disaster situations and limit their ability to escape natural disasters.

Female-headed households, estimated to be 40% in the Region, must be included when developing climate and disaster risk policies, programmes, and projects. Overall, women head larger households than men and their livelihoods are more vulnerable to the impact of disasters. They also struggle more than men to find alternative livelihoods and re-enter the formal employment sector. As is the case during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, disasters disproportionately increase women’s care burden, the incidence of gender-based violence and job losses.

Yet, women and girls are effective, powerful leaders and change agents for climate adaptation and mitigation. They are involved in environmental sustainability initiatives around the world, and their participation and leadership result in more effective climate action. As a Community, we need to continue to increase the opportunities, and minimise the constraints to empowering women and girls to have a voice, and to be equal partners in decision-making on climate action and disaster management. By advancing gender equality today as a powerful driver of development, and working towards ensuring lives free of violence and poverty, we will secure a sustainable tomorrow and a thriving Community for all.

It is my pleasure and privilege to wish everyone a Happy International Women’s Day.

Dear readers and supporters,

Please stay safe and healthy (or at least try your best to do so) during and after this Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic.

Welcome to News Fresh Out (NFO), an online space for useful news and information.

From time to time, there are (and as no one knows the future, there will likely be) unintended hiatuses in our operations and the avoidance of such as far as possible and practicable are being worked on.

Past hiatuses are sincerely regretted even while it must be understood and appreciated that NFO does not directly control all necessary factors for its continuing operations and it never will.

Moving forward, you will be served with useful news and information in dynamic ways from summary formats to in-depth coverage and analysis.

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All of us @ News Fresh Out

Dominica’s newest centenarian is Celina George (née Baptiste) of Goodwill who turned 100 years of age on Saturday 15 February 2020.  

George, born and raised on Tranto Estate, Castle Bruce attributes her longevity to living a stress-free life.

“To live life, just take it easy because every morning I get up, i say [the Apostles’ Creed]. Don’t worry your head, just know you have to live properly. Don’t do your neighbour [anything wrong].”

She encourages people to not be consumed in owning material things as “we haven’t got [anything], even though you see the ‘house’…if you have nothing, you go with nothing.”

George recalls a childhood of growing up on agricultural estate with an abundance of food and having to travel to the capital city, Roseau by boat. 

The former seamstress and resourceful homemaker lived a considerable amount of her adult life in England where she raised a family of three children and subsequently had six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. 

She left for England in 1956 and returned to Dominica a number of times with her family before returning for good in 2012.

To this day, she remains active through sewing and creating craft decorations for her home.

“I always find something to do, up till now. All my sewing I do…so pretty. I don’t know about [sewing] patterns, books [and so on]. I just have my head ‘on’. Since you give an old dress you have…I take your size and I make your dress”, George said.

She was also involved in designing her residence at Goodwill. 

Forty nine year old businessman, Zing Jian Yong has died following a shooting incident which took place at about 11:15pm on Tuesday night at Picard, Portsmouth.

Police say the Chinese national and resident of Picrd was taken to the Reginald Fitzroy Armour Hospital where he was medically examined and pronounced dead by a medical doctor.

Its investigations continue while the body is at Lyndhurst Funeral Home, awaiting a post-mortem examination.

Some surveillance video, reportedly coming from the popular restaurant owned by Yong and seen by News Fresh Out, suggest his death is linked to an armed robbery at his establishment.

Dear Editor-in-Chief,

I have always read with great interest articles in local newspapers mentioning the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, better known as the EPA. Despite the EPA having been in application for over a decade, I note, with some regret, that there are still misunderstandings and misconceptions about the Agreement.

The CARIFORUM-EU EPA (contrary to what one recently published article claims) has been signed by ALL CARIFORUM States and is provisionally being applied in the EU and all the CARIFORUM Countries (except in Haiti, pending its ratification). Unfortunately, I am still obliged to address fundamentally false claims about the EPA allegedly limiting or closing access to the European market for certain most lucrative Caribbean trade whilst opening the Caribbean market to European products.

The facts are that the EPA provides immediate DUTY AND QUOTA FREE market access into the EU for ALL Caribbean products (except arms and munitions), whereas market access to the Caribbean market for European products is phased over a 25 year tariff liberalization period and will not include most sensitive goods such as agricultural and fishery products, beverages, ethanol, rum and vegetable oils, just to mention a few.

The CARIFORUM-EU EPA provides also (unlike other EPAs that the EU has concluded with other ACP regions) a substantial market access for CARIFORUM’s services. The CARIFORUM-EU EPA is also the first trade agreement in which the parties specifically included comprehensive provisions on culture. The Protocol on Cultural Cooperation implements the 2005 UNESCO convention on the Protection and Promotion of cultural diversity, and is providing CARIFORUM artists and other culture-related services suppliers with better conditions for the temporary movement of persons, for co-production market access, and other aspects, which have been a high priority in particular for CARIFORUM creative industry practitioners. The role that this Protocol can play in stimulating opportunities for the cultural and creative sector of the CARIFORUM region, within the EU market, cannot be overemphasized.

The CARIFORUM-EU EPA aims at achieving sustainable development by establishing a trade partnership which promotes regional integration and the gradual integration of CARIFORUM countries into the world economy. It also includes capacity building measures and supports increased investment. This is a new kind of trade agreement, as sustainable development is the presiding principle governing the whole agreement. Sustainable development is backed by development cooperation provisions, allowing for technical and financial assistance to achieve the goals of the agreement.

All this, however, does not mean that the EPA has been delivering to its full potential. Despite the many opportunities offered, many CARIFORUM States have not yet been able to translate market access for CARIFORUM goods and services into a meaningful presence in the EU market.

There are a number of operational and capacity constraints on the side of Caribbean economic operators, making it difficult to meet certain European technical and sanitary requirement and standards. These requirements and standards that have to be met by both European producers and all of the EU’s other trade partners, are aimed at protecting human and animal health as well as the environment.

We do, however, understand that complex legislative acts, technical regulations and standards and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures may be difficult to understand and reach. Therefore, from 2012 to 2017 the EU (through the 10th European Development Fund) provided EUR 46 million towards support in critical EPA areas such as assistance for the region’s services sector, addressing Technical Barriers to Trade Issues, Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary measures, the development of regional statistics, support for the rum industry, economic fiscal reforms, and capacity building. Under the 11th EDF, an additional EUR 21 million are being provided towards support in six areas: Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights, Technical Barriers to Trade, Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary measures, capacity building in the areas of competition; public procurement, customs and trade facilitation; and support for implementation of EPA and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) at the national level.

This support will contribute to improve the enabling environment for trade and investment by both the private and public sectors and unlock the numerous potential benefits this comprehensive trade and economic agreement offers. In addition, supporting CARIFORUM firms to leverage the CARIFORUM-EU EPA and to transform market access opportunities into real market penetration has been at the forefront of the Caribbean Export Development Agency’s work programme which is being funded by the European Union. Indeed, since 2010, around EUR 52 million have been dedicated to enhance the competitiveness and value of the Caribbean brands through the delivery of transformative and targeted interventions in export development and investment promotion.

In conclusion, making the EPA a success requires a collective effort. For this reason, we are and will continue working with our valued partners in the region (CARIFORUM Directorate, National EPA implementation Units, Caribbean Export and other Business Support Organisations) helping to overcome the challenges preventing Caribbean people and businesses to draw the fullest benefits from the agreement. And, as it appears, one of the challenges is to improve the awareness of the opportunities the EU-CARIFORUM EPA offers: an awareness not only among economic operators and businesses, but also among journalists and publicists, to prevent anyone from spreading essentially incorrect and false information about the agreemen

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).

Press Release

By the time you read this, the new year, quite likely, would have already arrived in your ‘neck of the woods’.

The new year is a time where we should be positive in mind and spirit.

Embrace an optimistic thinking and behaviour that once we try our best to make the most of the year, then good things will naturally follow.

To make the best of the year, we must make the most of our individual lives. Focus on what’s important and once necessary, seek to improve our living standards.

Work according to our strengths while working on our weaknesses and keeping them in check.

When we are working ourselves first and foremost, we are in a better position to assist others, within our capacity.

Wishing you a great 2019 and beyond.

One love,

From News Fresh Out