Project to increase environment education and awareness in Dominica to be undertaken with support from GEF Small Grants Programme

The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme – Dominica (GEF-SGP) implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, is partnering with Dominica-based organization, CultureMedia Services Inc. to address gaps in communication and messaging on environment and sustainable development issues in Dominica beginning with two webinars and a face-to- face training  workshop during the month of April, 2022.

The capacity building project entitled:  Increasing Visibility of SGP in Dominica whilst Enabling Greater Access to Information on Environmental Matters through Environmental Education Programme with Local Languages to Empower Civil Society Partners for Community Action” will be rolled out with a virtual webinar for civil society organisations on Wednesday 13th April, 2022, while a second webinar targeting local media and major national entities is planned for Wednesday 20th April. Both webinars will run from 10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the scheduled dates.

These activities are part of a broader programme of sensitisation and capacity building with regard to environmental issues in Dominica and a means of increasing the visibility of the GEF-SGP by showcasing the work of the programme in Dominica.

“As we are fully aware, our environment is imperilled as a result of climate change because of global warming and therefore it is imperative that every sector and every segment of the population understands the impacts that this is having on our country and the need to be fully mobilised, especially at the organisational and community levels to take action to preserve our environment and help us develop best practices to adapt to and mitigate against these impacts,” Director of the CMSI, Sobers Esprit stated in a press release.

He continued, “The programme will also draw attention on the many man-made actions which have negatively impacted our environment including issues such as the indiscriminate use of chemicals, poor waste disposal practices, and land degradation issues. Accordingly, we’ve received funding from the GEF SGP to help bring greater attention to these very critical issues affecting our ability to pursue a sustainable development pathway and building a climate resilient country.”

The two webinars and a training workshop scheduled for April 27th, will target the media, public and private sector entities with communications capacity, SGP Grantees, representatives of women’s, youth, indigenous people, disability and other civil society partners as well as national institutions engaged in environmental, sustainable development and climate change related issues in Dominica.

The sessions are expected to raise the level of awareness, education and skills to help empower citizens for stewardship of the environment as well as build capacity and find sustainable solutions to those intractable challenges posed by climate change and other natural and human actions.

The project will provide an opportunity for participants to utilize the best available media and communication tools to mobilize local individuals and groups. The webinars will hear presentations from a diverse range of public sector institutions involved in environmental and sustainable development matters, the SGP Dominica, grass-roots organisations engaged in advocacy and community-based actions, as well as technical experts from the CMSI team.  Meanwhile, the training workshop will provide a unique opportunity for participants to work on developing creative and culturally relevant content to inform, educate and mobilize local communities to action to address the impact of the climate crisis and the other major problems which continue to impact the environment in Dominica.

Following these initial sessions, environment-related messages will be developed utilizing the main languages of Dominica namely English, Kweyol, Kalinago and Kokoy and employing a variety of media formats. These messages will then be disseminated via social media, traditional media and on collateral media products over the next several months. Additionally, the programme will also engage young people in a performing arts programme where they will be able to create performance-poetry and songs using the themes coming out of the education sessions.

Overall, the education programme will seek to bridge the information gap on the important and critical work of the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme in Dominica and to increase local community knowledge, understanding and action on environmental issues as they relate to the GEF focal areas, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)national priorities, and other regional and international concerns and actions.

To join the webinar please register in advance at the link below:

https://undp.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tf-qgrzwuHdOWCzK-7rNIR-zuLZ_ucm7x

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