A special hybrid Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference was hosted at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston, Jamaica on Wednesday, July 12.
This was announced by Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, and Deputy Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Olivia Grange, during a statement to the House on Tuesday, July 11.
The conference, hosted by Jamaica’s Parliament, which is the local branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), was titled ‘Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Regional Conference on Women’s Political and Parliamentary Leadership’.
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The CWP, an arm of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, has a mission to promote the representation of women in CPA Branches and their full and equal participation in political and parliamentary leadership at all levels.
The CWP represents over 3,000 women parliamentarians across 180 Commonwealth national and sub-national Parliaments in 56 countries within the CPA’s nine regions.
Minister Grange said that the Conference was to educate women parliamentarians about the proper functioning of a Parliamentary Women’s Caucus by building on the work of two recent workshops on developing gender caucuses, held in December 2022 and March 2023.
She also highlighted that the conference was to sensitize non-parliamentarians about the legislative process, explore ways to promote women’s issues in the legislature, and identify legislative measures to protect women and vulnerable groups in Caribbean society.
The Conference facilitated meaningful exchanges among approximately 300 parliamentarians, women councilors, private and public sector leaders, and youth leaders from the 19 branches in the region. While 80 local participants were expected to attend in person, remote overseas participants also joined the conference.
Minister Grange informed that the conference was funded through a CWP Regional Strengthening Funds grant of £10,000 ($1,900,000). The grant covered expenses related to the venue, meals, speakers/presenters, equipment (including dedicated Internet service), stationery and printed materials, as well as décor, photography, and entertainment.
Notable speakers for the event included Minister Grange, Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte, House Speaker Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, and Dr. Angela Brown Burke, among others.
