Local media professionals are in line to have their competencies at identifying, analyzing and understanding social protection issues heightened, as they get ready to participate in a two-day UN sponsored training exercise.
Given the critical role media play in public information and awareness building, the specialized training will attempt to build capacity of media personnel, ensuring that they are equipped with the knowledge and tools to be effective change agents.
“Media can be strategic allies for change by shaping the conversation, monitoring commitments made by policymakers and increasing transparency and accountability,” notes workshop facilitator Celine Felix of UNICEF Eastern Caribbean.
Advocacy and communication can be essential drivers for transformation in social protection.
“With certainty, there is a need for greater public awareness, with the media being key stakeholders in this process,” exclaimed Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Equity Irene Gaspard.
The training will also serve to deepen the media’s understanding of the role of the Joint Program, a collaborative UN effort, in strengthening social protection systems in the Eastern Caribbean.
More than 4 billion people worldwide currently lack social protection with only 47 percent of the world’s population effectively covered by at least one social protection benefit.
In the Caribbean, social assistance program targeting people living in poverty and facing vulnerabilities have even lower coverage, with some covering between 4-9% of the population and others under 2%.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and deepened structural problems of inequality, poverty and the informality of labor within the region.
Over the past month Saint Lucia has launched a revised National Social Protection Police (NSPP) that’s more comprehensive and responsive in nature, to the needs of the poor and vulnerable in society.
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Macmillan Education Caribbean will on Monday launch an extensive Summer of Science campaign, designed to encourage both students and educators to grow their passion and get involved in all kinds of science.
This campaign, which is set to run from June 6 to September 12, will incorporate both social media and several online events.
Spotlighting several of the titles in Macmillan Education Caribbean’s extensive range of science series’, the Summer of Science is a chance for both science educators and the Caribbean’s budding young scientists to develop their skills and reignite their passion for this vital subject.
From fascinating science facts and highlighting the work of Caribbean scientists across social media, to webinars and discussions, the Summer of Science will harness materials from five of their popular science titles to bring this subject to life. The campaign will begin with a two-week social takeover featuring inspiring Caribbean scientists such as Dr Claire Durant from Barbados, in addition to a webinar hosted by Discover Science author Debbie Roberts.
Later events include a panel discussion focusing on women in science, a social media spotlight on the science behind the Caribbean’s incredible agriculture industry, and much more.
With social media playing such an important part in access to information, the Summer of Science brings an element of “infotainment” to educators and students across the Caribbean. Through this extensive and varied campaign, Macmillan Education Caribbean hopes to capture the playful side of science, rejuvenating those in science education as they come to the end of the academic year.
Towards the end of the campaign, Macmillan Education Caribbean will be making a special announcement.
Students and educators are encouraged to follow the Summer of Science across Macmillan Education Caribbean’s social media channels or visit their website for more information.