The Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean is a subsidiary body of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The Conference is convened every three years in order to identify the status of women’s autonomy and rights at the regional and subregional levels, present recommendations regarding public policies on gender equality, and undertake periodic assessments of the activities carried out in fulfilment of regional and international agreements on the subject.

The Caribbean preparatory meeting will be the occasion to discuss progress made, and challenges faced in the implementation of the Montevideo Strategy in synergy with the Beijing+25 review. It will also identify new priority areas that need to be addressed to strengthen women’s autonomy in changing economic scenarios in the Caribbean. In addition, the preparations for the XIV session Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean will be discussed.

09:00 - 09:30 - Inauguration of the Subregional preparatory meeting of the XIV session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Chair: Hon. Frederick Stephenson, Minister of National Mobilization, Social Development, the Family, Gender, Persons with Disabilities and Youth Affairs, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Gaietry Pargass, Senior Legal Adviser, Office of the Prime Minister, Trinidad and Tobago
• Janey Joseph, Director of Gender Relations, Saint Lucia, delivering the welcome statement of the President of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, Mariella Mazzotti, Director of the National Women’s Institute, Uruguay
• Tonni Ann Brodber, Deputy Representative, UN Women Caribbean Multi-Country Office
• Alison Drayton, Director, UNFPA Regional Office for the Caribbean
• Mario Castillo, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, ECLAC Division for Gender Affairs

09:30 - 10:15 - Celebration of the Caribbean Girls Hack 2019 Hackathon initiative

• Diane Quarless, Director, ECLAC Subregional headquarters for the Caribbean
• Hon. Frederick Stephenson, Minister of National Mobilization, Social Development, the Family, Gender, Persons with Disabilities and Youth Affairs, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Winners:
  • Juleen Gentles, University of Technology, Jamaica
  • Shaiyan Bowman, Mountain View Adventist Academy, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • Maali Rose, St. Augustine Girls’ High School

10:15 - 10:30 - Coffee Break and Group Photo

10:30 - 11:15 - Updates on Caribbean issues

• Alison Drayton, Director, UNFPA Regional Office for the Caribbean, ‘Update on Spotlight initiative in the Caribbean’ 
• Roberta Clarke, President, Coalition against Domestic Violence ‘Consolidating the Caribbean message on gender issues’

11:15 - 13:30 - Consideration of progress made, and challenges faced in the implementation of the Montevideo Strategy in synergy with the Beijing+25 review 

• Nicole Bidegain, Social Affairs Officer, ECLAC Division for Gender Affairs
• Lydia Rosa Gény, Associate Social Affairs Officer, ECLAC Subregional headquarters for the Caribbean
• Hazel Brown, Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women, ‘The Caribbean, 25 years after Beijing’
• Country contributions:
  • Elaine Henry-McQueen, Senior Programme Officer, Gender and Family Affairs, Grenada, ‘Women’s participation in public life and decision-making and women’s economic empowerment’
  • Janey Joseph, Director of Gender Relations, Saint Lucia, ‘Women’s education, training and lifelong learning’
  • Abike Benjamin-Samuels, Deputy Director of Social Services, Guyana, ‘Ending violence against women and girls’
  • Tara-Sue Morgan, Gender Affairs Coordinator, British Virgin Islands, ‘Women and Environment’
  • Tinavia Arthur, Research Programme Officer, Department of Gender Affairs, Turks and Caicos Islands, ‘Vulnerable groups of women in focus’
• Discussion

13:30 - 14:30 - Lunch Break

14:30 - 16:00 - Women’s autonomy in changing economic scenarios in the Caribbean

• Moderator: Terry Ince, Founder and Convener of the NGO, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee of Trinidad and Tobago
• Panelists:
  • Prof. Rhoda Reddock, Expert of the United Nations CEDAW Committee, ‘Identifying new priorities to achieve gender equality by 2030 in the Caribbean’ 
  • Amílcar Sanatan, Instructor, University of the West Indies, ‘Engaging Caribbean men and boys in promoting women’s autonomy and gender equality’
  • Kurba-Marie Questelles, Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, ‘Including Caribbean youth in the global and regional gender agenda for greater impact on future generations’ 
  • Lydia Rosa Gény, Associate Social Affairs Officer, ECLAC Subregional headquarters for the Caribbean, ‘Impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on the autonomy of women in the Caribbean’
  • Dr. Ronya Foy Connor, Gender Development Coordinator, Anguilla, ‘Financing gender equality through partnerships’
• Discussion

16:00 - 16:15 -Coffee Break

16:15 - 17:00 - Preparations for the XIV session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Nicole Bidegain, Social Affairs Officer, ECLAC Division for Gender Affairs
• Stefanía Doebbel, International Affairs Adviser, Ministry of Women and Gender Equity, Chile

17:00 - 17:15 - Other matters

17:15 - 17:30 - Closing and conclusions of the preparatory meeting  

• Hon. Frederick Stephenson, Minister of National Mobilization, Social Development, The Family, Persons with Disabilities and Youth, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Diane Quarless, Director, ECLAC Subregional headquarters for the Caribbean