Regional
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© UNICEF ECO/2007/Rossel-Cambier |
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Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office for Barbados - the Hounourable Joseph Atherley giving the key note address at the opening ceremony |
Highlights from UNICEF End Cycle Meeting
From 05-06 December the UNICEF Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean held its End Cycle Meeting at the Sherbourne Conference Centre. Under the theme Moving the agenda for Children Forward in the Eastern Caribbean, the meeting explored new ways of working in the upcoming 2008-2011 programme cycle. The participants comprised of students and youth from Barbados and select Caribbean islands; government partners, NGOS and members of the civil society from the 10 countries who are part of its programme of cooperation. The meeting comprised mainly of panel discussions on key issue that will be addressed during the upcoming programme cycle.
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony featured a key note address by the Minister of Sate in the Prime Minister's Office in Barbados– The Reverend, the Honourable Joseph Atherley. He made a call for Barbados and the Caribbean to develop a positive culture of child rearing. There were also remarks made by: Mr. Hamilton Lashley, the Government Advisor on Poverty Eradication and the MDGs; The Deputy Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis – the Honourable Sam Condor and Ms. Karin Sham Poo – UNICEF Special Envoy for the Caribbean.
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© UNICEF ECO/2007/Rossel-Cambier |
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Students leading the panel discussion - Adolescent and Youth Participation: What do young people want? |
Day 1
Day 1 focused on the issue of corporate social responsibility and featured a presentation by Lara Vu of the UNICEF Office for Latin America and the Caribbean Private Sector Division and a Representative of the First Caribbean Bank. There was also a panel discussion on The Role of UWI in Generating a Knowledge Base for children and a presentation on what ought to be the direction on the follow-up to the UN Secretary General Study on Violence against Children.
Day 2
Day 2 focused primarily on panel discussions on the key issues in each element of the new country programme. These were on Social Policy Monitoring and Evaluation for Children’s Rights; Supporting Children’s Optimal Development: birth through adolescents; Reforms in Legislation, Programmes and Practices- where should we be headed and a panel on Youth participation which was entitled “ Youth participation – What do young People Really want?”.
The panel discussions were followed by three concurrent workshops which focused on: Using Dev Info for Decision Making; Restorative Justice: Possible models for the Caribbean and Democratic Governance in Schools.
