The EU-UN Spotlight Trinidad and Tobago Programme is being implemented with special focus in Tunapuna/Piarco, Mayaro/Rio Claro and Tobago. The TT Spotlight Newsletter Issue 5 focuses on several of recent issues and events including a donation to the TTPS's VWSU, the role of culture and art in addressing GBV, and a campaign to support the Children's Authority.

This issue of In the Spotlight Caribbean showcases the work that has steadily progressed for the first six months of this year.

Through a collaboration between UN Women and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the UN Women-IICA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) facilitates enhanced support for women and marginalized farmers and agri-business owners, including strengthening gender-responsive services to women and youth in agri-business across the region.

With a starting injection of close to one million dollars, the United Nations and the Government of Bermuda put their new cooperation framework into action by launching a programme to close the business financing gaps that particularly affect women, the youth and people living with disabilities.

The United Nations Joint SDG Fund has injected nearly $1 million into this programme which takes steps to facilitate the sustainable economic empowerment of women, youth and people with disabilities and their greater access to financial mechanisms, knowledge sharing and capacity building particularly in areas of agribusiness and fishing.

Women in St. Lucia will benefit from a social protection project, funded by Global Affairs Canada, that will boost women’s economic resilience by tackling the barriers that exacerbate their vulnerabilities to achieving economic empowerment. Co-led by UN Women and UNFPA, in partnership with the Government of St. Lucia, the Build Back Equal project was launched today at the Bay Gardens Inn to provide sustainable opportunities for women’s economic growth that will contribute to COVID-19 recovery.

Autonomous social movements and relevant CSOs, including those representing youth and groups facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination/marginalization, more effectively influence and advance progress on GEWE and ending VAWG. Resources are being made available under Outcome 1 and the Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica and Caribbean Regional programme respectively for non-governmental organisations to provide regional programmatic support to the UN Women MCO Caribbean.

Ayesha Constable is a climate researcher and practitioner who applies a feminist approach to her work as a scholar activist. She is co-founder of GirlsCARE and founder of Young People for Action on Climate Change Jamaica. As a young woman in academia and climate action, Ayesha uses every opportunity to promote the intersectionality of climate impact and gender inequality and advocate for more women and girls in climate action.

The UN Women Multi-Country Office (MCO) - Caribbean, seeks to partner with Responsible Parties (Non-Governmental Organizations [NGOs] to: Implement advocacy campaigns to promote positive social norms and practices on gender equality and raise awareness of the importance of more inclusive and sustainable policies in the Caribbean to achieve sustainable development.

Under the EnGenDER Project, UN Women is aiming to conduct a Geospatial Analysis on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Poverty and Climate Change Impacts. Proposals are invited from companies/firms outlining the methodology for gender analysis data for the design of a model for geospatial mapping of GBV and climate hazard impacts. The firm is also expected to train senior technical officers from EnGenDER beneficiary countries on the design and application of the model for geospatial mapping of GBV and climate hazard impacts.

Phylicia Alexander Lavia is the Foundress & Executive Director of Red Root SVG, a nonprofit in her home country of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. Phylicia is a gender-based violence survivor and activist who advocates for the empowerment & support of underserved women, LGBTQ+ communities & children.

The 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66)—the second largest UN intergovernmental meeting in New York—closed its two-week long session today (14 to 25 March) acknowledging the important role of women and girls as agents of change for sustainable development, in particular safeguarding the environment and addressing the adverse effects of climate change.

The UN Women Multi-Country Office (MCO) - Caribbean, seeks to partner with a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) to provide support to women's rights groups, CSOs, and relevant stakeholders through the coordination of actions aimed at increasing opportunities and support to women’s rights groups to share knowledge, network, partner and jointly advocate for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (GEWE) and ending Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), including family violence, at sub-national, national, regional and global levels.

The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) joined a record number of 118 exchanges and central counterparties (CCPs) around the world to commemorate the eighth annual 'Ring the Bell for Gender Equality' campaign, to raise awareness about the role and opportunities for the private sector to advance gender equality and sustainable development.

Women and girls around the world are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and disaster response. In solemn recognition of this reality, the United Nations, under the lead of UN Women, commemorates International Women’s Day (IWD) 2022, with the theme, “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” This year, we are highlighting the impacts of global warming on women and girls right here on our Caribbean home and recognizing their outstanding contributions in the response to and fight against climate change.

Evidence of women’s increased vulnerability is in the pre-existing social and cultural demands on women and girls as primary caregivers with the imbalanced responsibilities for care of the elderly, children and the sick. This care work increases in the immediate aftermath of a disaster and continues long after.

UN Women and the CARICOM Secretariat recently held preparatory meetings ahead of CSW66 – “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes”.

On the eve of the 16 Days of Activism to end gender-based violence, 54 young women participated in a simulated all women parliamentary sitting through the support of The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago and the European Union-United Nations Spotlight Initiative.

On her inaugural mission to the Caribbean, UN Women Regional Director for the Americas and Caribbean Maria Noel Vaeza, accompanied by the Representative - UN Women Multi-Country Office–Caribbean, Tonni Brodber, met with Governments and development partners in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean mission was focused on sharing on UN Women’s new 4-year strategic plan, particularly strategies towards building forward from COVID-19 in a gender-responsive way.

Development of a Rapid Gender Analysis that aims to provide humanitarian actors with recommendations to address the needs of women and girls to ensure their rights and needs are at the core of recovery and reconstruction efforts.