Tomorrow (Thursday July 28), the 51% Coalition will ask the question: What Do Jamaican Women Want? at a public forum sponsored by UN Women in partnership with Fi Wi Jamaica. The event will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m at the Medallion Hall Hotel, 53 Hope Road, Kingston 6. Do join us! There are several interesting and revealing answers to these questions, and researchers at the Coalition have “dug deeper” to find out much more. This session is free and open to the public, so do come and bring a friend. This wrap-up meeting marks the end of a fruitful project funded by UN Women under the theme: Building a Women’s Political Constituency.
The forum has several different components. Firstly, it will address the findings of the Coalition on the top priorities for women in Jamaica, gleaned from island-wide consultations conducted over the last six months. These interactive meetings with women at the grassroots level in rural and urban parishes were conducted in partnership with Fi Wi Jamaica and included human rights awareness and presentations on human trafficking. The meetings also gave women the opportunity to air their concerns and discuss possible solutions. Tomorrow’s forum will also take stock of the situation regarding women’s leadership in Jamaica: Have we broken the glass ceiling? What progress has been made? Finally, consultant Nicole Brown will also present the Coalition’s Strategic Plan going forward – a “Where do we go from here?”
Lastly, Professor Rosalea Hamilton, Project Director of the Fi Wi Jamaica Project and Vice President, Community Service and Development at the University of Technology will broaden the discussion further to discuss how society can help to strengthen women’s leadership in the political and other fields. What are the practical steps that can be taken? Where are the strengths and weaknesses in women’s participation in society?
We hope you will be able to join the 51% Coalition to hear much more about what women really want. This 51% of the population is the constituency we are talking about. Of course the timing is perfect, with the launch of Jamaica’s He For She campaign this evening, at Jamaica House.
There is much to look forward to, and much work to be done!
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