Themes

YOUTH

Children and young people in the Caribbean face numerous challenges. At Panos Caribbean, we believe that youth can provide solutions to those problems.

At the core of our programmes and project activities targeting children and young people is the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which outlines the basic human rights to which children everywhere are entitled. One of those rights is for children to be able to express their own opinions on matters affecting them and that these are taken into account.

The Convention also speaks to the child’s right to receive and share information of all kinds either orally, written in the form of art, or through any other media of their choice.

Over the next few years we will continue to promote the full participation of Caribbean children and youth in the development process by including their own voices and perspectives through various media into public debate via:

1. Capacity building – training of children to report on HIV and related issues: via our Youth Journalism Programme “Our Own Voices – Youth Communicating Through the Media”.
2. Documenting the Voices of children and young people: This involves the production, publishing and broadcasting of material for circulation in media and via the Internet.
3. Providing a platform for children and adolescents to communicate their perspectives on issues that affect them; including stigma and discrimination, sexual and reproductive health rights, various forms of abuse and neglect.
4. Working with media to improve media’s understanding of issues related to children and young people and encourage responsible reporting on those issues.
5. Conducting media analysis & monitoring to measure the effectiveness of our activities, to determine the extent to which issues concerning children are being reported by the media and how media treats those issues.

PUBLIC HEALTH

HIV/AIDS is a complex epidemic driven by a combination of behavioural, cultural, societal and economic factors.  The participation of all sectors in all parts of the Caribbean in the decision making process is an essential step in lessening the impact of HIV/AIDS and reversing the current trends.

Panos Caribbean has worked on the issue of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region since the organization began operations in 1986.

We recognize that public health is crucial to the well-being of the region and its people as it is linked to quality of life and the region’s economy. Through our Health Communications programme and project activities, we work to support participatory, inclusive and transparent decision-making on health at the national and regional levels.

In order to tackle the epidemic and guide the organization’s response, Panos Caribbean has developed a regional Health Communications programme within the scope of the Panos Global AIDS Programme (GAP). Our Health Communications Programme includes all areas of public health with special focus on HIV & AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The Panos Global AIDS Programme (GAP) was a thematic programme across the network of autonomous Panos Institutes.

Over the next few years Panos Caribbean will continue to work to improve awareness, increase debate and spark action on public health issues by;

1. Building the communication capacity of people living with HIV, youth and other groups affected by HIV & AIDS and Tuberculosis;
2. Strengthening the capacity in the Caribbean media to encourage public dialogue and debate around health issues;
3. Making policy makers and decision makers accountable to the priorities of the most affected;
4. Providing stakeholders from grassroots to the global level with factual, relevant information on Public Health issues which reflect the perspectives of youth and other people directly affected by HIV & AIDS in the region.

CLIMATE JUSTICE

People are at the heart of all the activities of Panos Caribbean. Under our environment programme we aim to empower community people, in particular those from rural areas, to effectively participate in shaping national and regional responses to environmental and development issues.

We help local communities to speak out on issues such as climate change, land degradation, energy, bauxite mining, gender, coastal resource management and sanitation. Journalist training, exhibitions, articles, briefings and reports are some of the activities through which Panos’ raises media coverage in the region.

Over the next few years we will be working to ensure that:

1. Local people in at various countries – such as Jamaica, Hispaniola, Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia and Belize – are engaged in environmental management and influencing policies.
2. Decision makers and other stakeholders understand the value of including community perspectives.
3. Capacity in regional media, including community media, is strengthened to include community perspectives in environmental coverage.
4. Exchanges of community environmental stories are done throughout the region; there is increased public awareness on environmental issues.

GENDER

Panos Caribbean highlights gender norms in the Caribbean and their impact by engaging the voices of those most affected by gender issues. We promote social justice through gender empowerment and train journalists about policies and issues that affect gender.

We have worked on issues such as:

• Women’s access to their basic rights through the Conventional on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• Training women leaders for greater participation in governance – for eg. Basic communication skills for upcoming women leaders
• The rights of men and women involved in sex work
• Gender and HIV with its impact on youth.

Over the next few years we aim to:

1. Increase awareness of gender and development issues across the region
2. Work with vulnerable or marginalized groups to express their concerns and priorities through a variety of communication approaches
3. Improve capacity of media to report on gender and development issues
4. Ensure that key development programmes and policies are gender specific

Voices for Climate Change Education

Voices for Climate Change Education Project

Voices for Climate Change Education is a joint project of The National Environmental Education Committee (NEEC) and Panos Caribbean: The project is a national climate change communication strategy which utilizes the expertise, talent, influence and VOICES of established performing artiste as well as new, upcoming talent in the industry to educate and spread awareness on climate change issues and promote environmentally friendly behaviour.

This music video is one of the productions of the project and includes, Tony Rebel, Queen Ifrica, One Third, and other Digicel Rising Stars winners and outstanding contestants, Lloyd Lovindeer, Omari, Amique and other performing artistes!

The Voices for Climate Change Education project is part of Panos Caribbean’s Environment programme activities.

Staff