United Nations Development Programme Jamaica

KINGSTON (JIS):
Saturday, September 26, 2009
 

The following public advisory was issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade on Friday (September 25):
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade is advising the public to ignore any advertisements for employment purporting to be from the United Nations Programme For International Cooperation and Development.

Click Here to View Advisory

The next Knowledge Fair of the EC-UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative will be a ‘Virtual Fair’ taking place on the Migration for Development website.  The Virtual Fair will be held in conjunction with the Global Forum on Migration and Development Civil Society days on 2-3 November 2009 in Athens, Greece. Submissions are being sought for the Virtual Fair online showcase of Civil Society initiatives.  The ‘top’ selected initiative will be invited to participate in the Civil Society days in Athens in November. The Virtual Fair will feature a Virtual Exhibition of Good Practices, a Daily Blog with updates from Athens and video interviews with some of the key participants.
The Call closes in 2 weeks: Friday, 16th October 2009. NOTE DEADLINE EXTENDED.

Jamaica’s progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been significant: An estimated 9.9 percent of its 2.7 million people lived below the poverty line in 2007, indicating a halving of the poverty rate of 19.9 percent recorded in 1997.[1] Jamaica has appeared on track to achieve MDG1, eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; has achieved Goal 2 of universal primary education; and has made significant progress in eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education. Life expectancy is 73.5 years, and access to health care is universal.
But Jamaica is a small island developing country at a critical development crossroads.

• Parenting training addressing violence reduction. Click Here for Article. 
• Launch of Project: Strengthening Community Safety through Local Government Capacity Building. Click Here for Article. 

UNDP Jamaica contributed to the video testimonies which were a valuable resource in the drafting of  the first Report of the Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System (GIVAS), entitled: "Voices of the Vulnerable: The Economic Crisis from the Ground Up"(www.voicesofthevulnerable.net). The Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon presented the Report to Heads of State and Government at the opening of the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly on 23 September, and made the Report a special focus of his state luncheon on the same day. 

Jamaican entertainers, including Lloyd Lovindeer, Queen Ifrica, Tony Rebel, Boris Gardiner, Pam Hall and many others, have come together for the Voices For Climate Change Project which was launched on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at the Mona Visitor’s Lodge, UWI. The project is a national public education campaign on climate change being implemented by Panos Caribbean, a regional organization which helps journalists to cover sustainable development issues, and Jamaica’s National Environment Education Committee (NEEC).

Voices for Change DVD

Schools, Community-Based Organizations and other stakeholders engaged in peace and conflict prevention and mediation activities can now benefit from a Facilitators’ Guide and resource package produced by the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) as part of its 2009 Peace For Prosperity campaign. In addition to the Facilitators’ Guide, the package of materials includes the book” Raising your Children to Resist Violence”, along with educational flyers, a Peace for Prosperity  poster, and 2 educational DVDs. This initiative was one of the activities of the 2009 campaign which benefited from support from the UNDP. 

War fi Done Video

At left: Dr. Margaret Jones-Williams; Advisor, UNDP Environment Programme, sharing information and give-aways with patrons.
UNDP was a sponsor and exhibitor at the recently concluded Green Expo - a three day environmental exposition organized by the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT). It is held during National Environmental Awareness Week, beginning on World Environment Day – June 5.

World Environment Day is a reminder to us all to treat our planet better and lighten our carbon footprint. Climate change is a threat to everyone. But without action, the brunt of the impact would be felt by poor and vulnerable people in developing countries.

UNDP extended commendations to the Ministry of Justice on staging the third conference on Restorative Justice. The theme: Restorative Justice: Transforming individual, family, community and country was simple and profound. It summed up the goal of the enterprise of restorative justice and set out a clear vision to which all can contribute and from which all can benefit.