Basseterre: St. Kitts, Wednesday, September 25, 2024: On Tuesday 24 September, The St. Kitts and Nevis National Commission for UNESCO convened a progress meeting to provide updates on the projects being undertaken by the Commission. The venue for this hybrid meeting was Ministry of Finance Conference Room, at Stanford Building.
Chair of the meeting and Secretary General Ms. Dorothy Warner shared that it is through these progress meetings, that members are made aware of which projects are closed, which are still ongoing, and which are about to start. Ms. Warner further revealed that a sum of almost USD $60,000 has been allocated to start three new projects that fall under the Participation Program Projects (PPP) initiative. The three focus projects for this biennium are expected to be completed by 2025.
Mrs. Shirmel Dore-Henry, Project Officer in the National Commission, provided an update of the projects that are closed. These include ‘The Professionalization and Standardization of Teaching in St. Kitts and Nevis’; ‘The St. Christopher and Nevis Accreditation Board Enhancement Initiative’, and the project entitled ‘Optimizing the use of Natural Catchment and Aquifers to enhance the Availability of Freshwater in St. Kitts and Nevis’, undertaken by the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College.
Information was also presented by tow focal point persons; Mrs. Telca Wallace, MAB Coordinator presented on the ‘Sensitization on the Elimination of Single-use Plastic’, and Ms. Shinnel Charles, Ag. Director of Gender Affairs presented on ‘Development of a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework for the implementation of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Gender Equality Policy and Action Plan’. Updates were also given on the project entitled ‘Accreditation Enhancement Project Phase 3’.
Dr. David Doyle, St. Kitts and Nevis Ambassador to UNESCO presented on the PPP that has yet to be approved; ‘St. Kitts and Nevis Orientation for student-teachers for The Open University of Tanzania (O.U.T) Bachelor’s degree Programme’. He noted that discussions between the Ministry of Education, UNESCO’s National Commission, and UNESCO with the university have been ongoing, Dr. Doyle expressed his elation that they have now received the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be signed by Minister Hanley in an upcoming virtual ceremony.
He emphasized, “Only last week we received the final text of the MOU – Memorandum of Understanding from The Open University of Tanzania and a separate Standards Level Agreement which we are poised to sign, at soonest.”
Remarking on the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) project, Ambassador Doyle shared, “The Education for Sustainable Development project is a very high-profile project that is being led by Dr. Tricia Esdaille. We received USD $90,000 compliments from the government of Japan a year and a half ago to enable us, with the assistance of a UNESCO expert, to develop a framework for the incorporation and integration of ESD into a new curriculum format which will impact the entire education system within the Federation.”
Commenting on the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) project, Dr. Doyle revealed that by the end of 2024, a structured National Intangible Cultural Heritage Framework Policy document will be ready for presentation to Cabinet. He noted that thereafter in stage two new project negotiations with the Ministry of Culture and UNESCO will begin early in 2025. These will focus on the nomination of individual Intangible Cultural Heritage elements from the Federation to be inscribed on UNESCO’s ICH list.
In closing the meeting, Ms. Warner thanked everyone for their attendance and participation. She expressed that it is important to keep UNESCO’s presence in the Federation.
