The Caribbean Democrat Union (CDU), in partnership with the Conservatives Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) Programme, The New Democratic Party (NDP) Women’s
Arm, and The LeadHership Institute, and the UWI Open Campus Women and Development Unit (WAND) successfully completed a 10 week LeadHership Training Programme in St.Vincent and the Grenadines.
Twenty-eight (28) young women between the ages of 18-30 from various communities across St. Vincent and the Grenadines participated in the programme which consisted of online training courses via ZoomTM; a special mentorship session with current and former NDP female parliamentarians held on February 18th; A Q&A session with two elected female MPs: Hon. Tracy Panton (Belize) and Hon. Emmalin Pierre (Grenada); and two days of face to face training held at the Beachcombers Hotel on Thursday March 2nd and Friday March 3rd, followed by a graduation ceremony where participants were presented with their certificates.
Regional Coordinator for the Conservatives WFD Programme in the Caribbean, Mr. Nick Francis, thanked the participants for making the commitment to attend the online courses and congratulated them on their high level of engagement. He also noted the importance of working together to ensure that women have an equal opportunity to lead and serve their communities in the political sphere.
Ms. Laura Saunders, Head of the International Department, Conservatives WFD Programme, reiterated the need to empower more women to participate in politics and decision making and hopes that by providing the funding for these initiatives, democracies across the region will become more inclusive and responsive.