Barbados

To commemorate World Environment Day (WED) 2023, CYEN in Barbados held a press briefing. The press briefing was to highlight the importance of WED and the work that the chapter had undertaken and plans to undertake. During the briefing, the Deputy Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector, Ms. Sharon Drayton gave the featured remarks, the National Coordinator, Ms. Shannon Weekes, for CYEN in Barbados gave the opening remarks and the Public Relations Officer for the Chapter, Ms. Ivanna Odle gave the findings for the soil and youth research undertaken by the chapter in February 2023. Additionally, prizes for past competitions were distributed to the winners.

On May 19th, 2023, the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) in Barbados, participated in a focus group meeting hosted by the Prime Minister’s Office, to gather information from the organization and other NGOs on existing projects that NGOs in Barbados are doing and their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), potential data sources, as well as to allow for the collation of data required for the Barbados Voluntary National Review (VNR). The NGOs in the focus group included Future Centre Trust and CYEN. Other organization who attended the meeting included UN women and International Organization of Migration (IOM).

On May 25th, CYEN in Barbados held its 11th general meeting. At the meeting, present members were updated on past CYEN activities, the chapters participation in events on the local level as well as the organizations participation regionally. Additionally, plans for the upcoming Environment month (June) were conceptualized and discussed for implementation. Lastly, the members had a fruitful discussion on humans and living sustainably.

World Biodiversity Day is celebrated on May 22nd each year. This year to commemorate the day, members of the Barbados chapter took a moment to visit the Welchman Hall Gully and to appreciate the stunning biodiversity of the natural environment. Chapter members were joined by the President of the Belfield Youth Council, Caleb Brathwaite. It was a great way to connect with nature and observe the intricate web of life that surrounds us. Members learned about the different species present in the gully from the Bearded fig tree, to the Mamey Apple Tree, and their purposes and contributions to the Barbados environment.

During the week of May 16th – May 18th, the National Coordinator for the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Chapter of CYEN, Ms. Deona Nero, was in Barbados. On the 17th May, members of the Barbados Chapter and the Executive Coordinator, Mr. Reginald Burke, met up with Deona and held a small social at the Bay Street Esplanade where they talked and got to know each other better.

On April 17th-18th 2023, the Ministry of Energy & Business in collaboration with Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) hosted the Energy Transition and Investment Plan Stakeholder workshop.The workshop was attended by key stakeholders such as the Barbados Light and Power Company (BL&PC), Barbados Renewable Energy Association (BREA), Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency (CCREEE), Barbados Community College & the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) just to name a few. CYEN members in Barbados, Shannon Weekes and Ivanna Odle were nominated to be on a youth panel discussion which discussed Gender Equity and Youth Empowerment in Sustainable Development. Overall, during the workshop the call for more collaboration between the stakeholders was a unanimous one, the practice of mitigation is needed more by countries as opposed to adaptation measures, more  Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) studies should be undertaken to better understand the gaps between knowledge and behavioral change and that although great policies with recommendations are created there is always the challenge of implementation which may be as a result of behavioral change. Therefore, it was suggested that behavioral change can be addressed with good success stories. Lastly, a call for more youth to be involved in decision making and implementation processes was issued.

On Saturday 29th 2023, CYEN in Barbados participated in the Belfield Youth Council Fun Day! The event sought to unite the community through activities, games, food and entertainment. During the opening ceremony, there were calls for more community activities, opportunities for youth to tell their stories and more efforts to reach the most vulnerable and underprivileged youth. Remarks were also made by-Mr. Kobie Broomes – Vice-President of the Barbados Youth Development CouncilMr. Caleb Brathwaite – Chairman of the Belfield Youth CouncilThe Hon. Corey Layne J.P., M.P., – Minister of State in the Office of Attorney General who gave the featured addressThe Hon. Kirk Humphrey, M.P., Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs who made a special appearance and gave remarks of support. CYEN was invited to have a booth to inspire participants to engage with environmental matters and as such we promoted the SoilCare programme. The Caribbean SOILCARE project, is a joint venture by PISLM and FAO, that seeks to create a conducive enabling environment and supports countries to establish, implement, monitor and report on progress towards Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) targets.This entails practicing sustainable land management and restoring degraded lands in specified land areas and time period so as to maintain or increase the amount and quality of land resources, sustain ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security.

Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22nd.Here in Barbados, the CYEN chapter had a Social Media Awareness Campaign where we shared 8 posts about how people can invest in our planet. Investing in our planet can look like: planting a fruit tree in your backyard, practicing composting or simply educating yourself on environmental matters and sustainable development.

World Water Day is recognized on March 22nd each year. This year, the Barbados Chapter issued a press release highlighting the drought-like conditions the island has been facing during the month of March which were partially responsible for the grass fires the island was battling. These sorts of events (fires) during drought-like conditions can cause further stress on the island’s water supply and therefore we must practice water conservation measures at work, school and home. The press release also highlighted the Water Audit Project which CYEN in partnership with Graydon Sealy, Harrison College and Foundation Secondary School will be undertaking. It has been estimated that the youth population of the island spend more than half of their time at school and therefore, the amount of water schools use is important to note.

On 24th March, 2023 the CYEN Caribbean Office, located in Barbados, received a courtesy visit from Mark Blumberg, an internationally renowned lawyer at the law firm Blumbergs Professional Corporation in Toronto. This firm works almost exclusively in the areas of non-profit and charity law and has undertaken significant work in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. Blumberg was received by the Executive Coordinator, Mr. Reginald Burke, National Coordinator in Barbados, Ms. Shannon Weekes and the Administrative and Logistics Officer in Barbados, Ms. Jahdae Parris.