Grenada’s former Ambassador the United Nations, Dessima Williams will be among four Grenadian women representing non governmental organisations (NGOs) at the upcoming Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which will be held in Samoa from 1-4 September.
The other women are Anande Trotman-Joseph – Caribbean Representative for UN Women Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, UN Women; Shadel Nyack-Crompton – Managing Director of Belmont Estate, under the support of the African, Caribbean and Pacific forum (ACP), and Christine Curry – Managing Director of the Grenada Goat Dairy Project.
Dr Williams is presently Senior Advisor on Policy and Programmes for the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation. She will chair an international panel on Sustainable Tourism, present on Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and attend the plenaries, multi-stakeholder forum as well as social development concerns, including that of women and youth.
Trotman-Joseph will be an advocate for decisions that would address justice, equality and equity, good governance, democracy and the rule of law, and give identification to the fact that gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment are essential prerequisites for equitable and inclusive sustainable development. Nyack and Curry will present Belmont Estate as an agro-business sustained by and contributing to a large internal network which is seen by many as a success model. The relationship between Belmont Estate and the Goat Dairy will be highlighted.
Another person from Grenada’s NGO Community will be Terry Charles, head of the Red Cross Grenada, who will be attending under the umbrella of the International Red Cross.
A press release from the Grenada National Organisation for Women (GNOW), stated that the ladies will fly the flags of Grenada and the Caribbean when they participate in the discussions and actions at the Conference relating to the social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities and sustainable challenges of these issues to Grenada, the wider Caribbean and islands worldwide.
“The focus of the conference is on strengthening the resilience of islands through partnerships. The women will also be part of the discussions and actions on the human rights-based and gender responsive development,” stated the GNOW release which was specifically aimed at congratulating the women.
The conference will be an opportunity to highlight the significant vulnerabilities that islands face while also bringing to the spotlight the ways in which this group of countries is making progress addressing global issues such as climate change, access to sustainable energy and environmental degradation.
The conference will also seek to be a platform to establish new, genuine and durable partnerships between Small Island Developing States and the rest of the world on various issues including sustainable economic development, oceans, food security and waste management, sustainable tourism, disaster risk reduction, and health and non-communicable diseases, youth and women.
By Linda Straker
