08 March 2013
UNIC Port of Spain joined the Gender Directorate of Antigua and Barbuda to celebrate this year's International Women's Day (8 March). The National Information Officer (NIO) appeared with the Directorate's Programme Officer on the "Good Morning Antigua" morning programme during the ABS Television special International Women's Day (IWD) broadcast.
Later in the day, the NIO delivered the Secretary-General's Message at the Opening Ceremony of an IWD Street Fair organised by the Directorate. The Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Social Transformation, Consumer Affairs and Local Government, and a representative of the Professional Organization of Women in Antigua (POWA) also addressed the Ceremony.
The Fair included display booths, dramatic presentations, discussion sessions, and a street self-defense demonstration, most of which focused on the theme of ending violence against women. Copies of the United Nations' IWD 2013 poster, "One Woman", were also distributed.
31 January 2013
On 31 January, the UN Information Centre (UNIC) Port of Spain promoted disarmament education with a film seminar on child soldiers.
The UNIC Library Assistant screened the 2004 documentary "Les Petits Soldats" (Child Soldiers), in French with English subtitles that chronicles child soldiers, aged 10 to 17 years who, returning from war, share their personal stories of how they were forced to take up arms.
After the film UNIC led a discussion with 19 post-graduate students of the Institute of International Relations at the University of the West Indies on the film's themes, which included the civil war in Liberia, violations of the rights of the child, and youth rehabilitation.
29 January 2013
On 29 January, the UN Information Centre (UNIC) in Port of Spain delivered a lecture on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to undergraduate students of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago.
The UNIC Library Assistant spoke of the structure and work of the United Nations, and the role of the MDGs in furthering the UN Development Agenda. He spoke of progress made in meeting the MDGs and focused on those Goals and Targets most relevant to Trinidad and Tobago, including environmental sustainability and gender equality. The lecture also addressed the Post-2015 sustainable development goal model.
UNIC distributed information materials, including copies of the 2012 MDG report and a video: “A Path to Dignity: the power of human rights education” [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahE0tJbvl78], to the 28 students in attendance.
18 January 2013
In a bid to advance human rights education, The UN Information Centre Port of Spain supported a workshop in St. Lucia from 16 to 18 January.
A centre for policy and professional development, publication and debate, the Institute of International Relations hosted a seminar on "International Human Rights and Sustainable Development" for senior Government officials from Barbados and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.
Topics covered included a review of the UN Human Rights Framework, Sustainable Development from a human rights perspective and the post -2015 Development Agenda.
UNIC provided an electronic package on a flash drive, which included the video “A Path to Dignity: the power of human rights education”, Bill of Rights material, UN Human Rights Office guidelines, resource sheets and Rio+20-related documents.
Also, printed copies of In Larger Freedom: Towards Security, Development and Human Rights for All were distributed to attendees.