UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

04/24/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 04/24/2024 10:18

Caribbean SHEROES Advances Gender Equality in The Bahamas

The Caribbean Sheroes Academy's interactive sessions aimed at enhancing advocacy skills, nurturing gender-inclusive projects, and championing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), unfolded on April 9 and 10, 2024, in New Providence, Bahamas. The two-day session represented a collaboration between the UNESCO Office of the Caribbean, the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture in The Bahamas, and the Institute for Gender and Development Studies - Regional Coordinating Office.

Over the two days, 17 participants including government representatives and youth officers were equipped with the tools and knowledge needed to advance the principles of gender equality within national youth programs during a Sheroes Academy Training for Trainers Workshop.

Additionally, within the framework of the Youth Leadership Certification Programme led by the Ministry of Youth, 102 youth leaders from more than 50 youth organizations in the Bahamas were also trained to design and implement projects that include gender considerations and advance the SDGs. Through the Sheroes Academy a fresh gender perspective was introduced to youth work.

Under the guidance of esteemed facilitators, Dr. Natasha Mortley, a distinguished Research Fellow at IGDS-RCO, and Dr. Dalea Bean, a Senior Lecturer and Graduate Coordinator at IGDS-RCO, participants were immersed in a transformative learning experience. The Academy provided youth leaders with an avenue for reflection on dismantling harmful norms and behaviors to support societal shifts and reimagine more equitable roles among men and women.

We recognize the importance of including a gender-lens in youth work and the importance of gender transformative action to tackle some of the social issues we face. The Sheroes Academy provided an opportunity to assess our local realities and draw on regional best practices as we seek to improve national strategies.

Rashard Ritchie Assistant Director of Youth at the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture in The Bahamas

Adapted to The Bahamian context, the Caribbean Sheroes Academy is part of the SDG Joint Programme, 'The Building Back Equal through Innovative Financing for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment' (BBE). The SDG Joint programme intends to pilot innovative financing for gender equality. This enables The Bahamas to not only build back equal post COVID-19 but to also be best practice examples of how innovative financing vehicles, digital platforms, and tools and frameworks can be leveraged to close the financing gaps that women and youth face in sectors such as agriculture, sustainable tourism, and creative and cultural industries.

As the Caribbean region marches forward on the path towards gender equality, initiatives like the Caribbean Sheroes Initiative aim to contribute to a more equitable and just society.