DEVELOPING PARTNERSHIPS
Since April 2018, WAND embarked on strategic partnerships with a specific focus on service through technical partnerships with the Barbados Government and other regional bodies in support of policy development and reform that enhance gender equality and women's empowerment. Listed below are a few partnerships to date.
2019
Pink Parliament
Pink Parliament was an initiative by Life In Leggings: Caribbean Alliance Against Gender-based Violence & The Barbados Youth Development Council in partnership with the Women & Development Unit (WAND) UWI - Open Campus. Pink Parliament aims was to equip participants ages 14-20 with the tools to be bold and effective advocates through professional training, mentorship, and networking sessions with political leaders.
This partnership was launched on October 11, 2019 and continued with sessions every Sunday until March 8, 2020. COVID 19 delayed the graduation ceremony, but a close-out photo shoot with those who completed cohort 1 was held instead. Seventeen girls graduated from cohort 1. WAND conducted training sessions with participants:
Heron, T. (2019, November 24). Sexual and Reproductive Issues for Adolescent Girls. Heron, T. (2019, November 17). Advocating for yourself.
- Heron, T. (2019, November). Radical Women and Radical Politics: Examples from the Caribbean, the USA and South Africa.
- Heron, T. (2020, February). Navigating Consent, what it is and what it is not.
- Heron, T. (2020, February). Understanding Gender Based Violence and the Vulnerabilities of Adolescent Girls.
21 Days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence Social Media Campaign
WAND collaborated with The UWI Cave Hill Department of Government and the IGDS to execute a social media campaign to annually commemorate the 21 days of activism to end gender based violence, November 25-December 10 2019. Additionally, WAND participated in media events and public fora to discuss the role of the media in promoting gender equality or perpetuating gender-based violence in the Caribbean.
Women’s Activism In Jamaica, 1970s-1990s
Artistic partnership with RStudio designed a poster celebrating Women’s Activism in Jamaica, 1970s-1990s with a focus on the work of Sistren Theatre Collective and using archival magazines from WAND’s library collection. The poster was presented by Ms Carol Lawes at the University of York’s Decolonisation, Performance and Activism Conference, October 2019.
Masks4AllBarbados
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, WAND created the #Masks4AllBarbados initiative which coordinated with 16 seamstresses across Barbados to make and sell masks throughout the island. The initiative was conducted between April and June 2020.
Riddim & Flo: Afro-Caribbean Dance Series
WAND entered into a partnership with the Barbados National Cultural Foundation (NCF) to execute Riddim &; Flo: Afro-Caribbean Dance Series” with Dr Yanique Hume. Riddim & Flo launched on February 7, 2020. The series comprised of two 8-class series in Afro-Caribbean dance forms and which explored dance as wellness and stress relief. The first series was specifically open to a range of Barbadian women who work in government, NGO, at UWI and broader society. The second series specifically targeted Barbadian dancers through the NCF’s dancer training programme and allowed Dr. Hume to transfer her extensive dance vocabulary to 25 dancers incorporating tools of dance as wellness. Riddim & Flo ended in May 2019.
2020
Pink Parliament:
This programe continues to equip girls ages 14-20 with the tools to be bold and effective advocates through professional training, mentorship, and networking sessions with political leaders. This partnership continued for a second year and was launched on October 11, 2020 and continued with sessions every Sunday until March 8,2021. Because of COVID the graduation ceremony was virtual. Fifteen girls graduated from cohort 2.
WAND’s online learning programme
In collaboration with CPEC and OCCS Grenada, WAND has engaged with the Ministry of Social Affairs in Grenada to pilot the course, Gender Analysis for Development Professionals and 3 other courses in gender and development planning and management.
Gender Based Violence and Judicial Decision Making in Barbados
The aim of this research project is to better understand barriers to accessing justice for women and girls in Barbados in gender-based violence and family law matters. This research project is in collaboration with the International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination (ICAAD) and commenced in October 2020.
21 Days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence Social Media Campaign
WAND collaborated with several entities for annually commemorating IDEVAW. For this academic year, we focused on utilizing the relationship with Soroptimist International and held two events, one with a high school and another for the general public, both looking at abuse.
