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.

Launch of two key toolkits developed by UN Women MCO Caribbean under the UN Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS) Joint Programme for parliamentarians on the ParlGender Tools E-platform which focus on integrating gender equality and human security in Agricultural Policy and Structural Adjustment Programmes.

"How can we make sure women and marginalised groups are part of the ecosystem creating employment and also accessing the opportunities for economic growth?" This was one of several topics of discussion during the “Road to the Summit: A Green and Equitable Future for the Americas” panel discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, in partnership with the US Department of State leading to the Ninth Summit of the Americas.

Roslyn Williams-George is a climate change activist in Trinidad and Tobago and president of the Cashew Gardens Community Council. Roslyn speaks out on the climate crisis in Trinidad and Tobago and how women are taking the reins of waste management in her community.

Ten women entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector in Jamaica received stipends valued at $100,000 Jamaica Dollars to scale their businesses under the Women’s Entrepreneurship Support (WES) Project. The stipends were financed through the Enabling Gender-Responsive Disaster Recovery, Climate and Environmental Resilience in the Caribbean (EnGenDER) Project, a project funded by the Government of Canada and UK FCDO, which is UNDP-led with co-implementation by UN Women, WFP and CDEMA.

“COVID-19 brought about virtual change and we were not ready…the training helped us to make the change.” ~Training Participant. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its pervasive socio-economic impacts, women across the Caribbean have had to find innovative ways to continue to generate income to provide for themselves, their families, and their communities. Thanks to a United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS)supported training programme, entitled: &ldquo...

To support the women farmers during this crisis, UN Women has re-oriented its project, which initially intended to establish a seed bank to guard against future disasters. The project will now temporarily pivot to connect farmers to new outlets and market opportunities.

Nearly a year ago, catastrophic hurricanes devastated the Caribbean. After Hurricane Irma, almost the entire population of Barbuda, a small island in the eastern Caribbean, was driven to its twin island of Antigua. In Dominica, Hurricane Maria wiped out crops, equipment and infrastructure. In efforts to ensure that women both benefit from, and lend their expertise to the humanitarian response in the Caribbean, UN Women has been working with partners in the immediate aftermath of the storms and beyond.

Six months on, since the Category 5 hurricane battered the small island nation, UN Women assessment shows what women want is assistance to get back on their feet and back to work, not handouts.