Communication Strategies and Child Rights Course in Jamaic

Communication Strategies and Child Rights Course in Jamaica

The Communication Strategies and Child Rights Course was held October 24-28, 2011 in Kingston, Jamaica in the framework of the project “Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Children and Adolescents in the Inter-American System” sponsored by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The IIN-OAS and the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) in coordination with the University of the West Indies through The Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC), a department of the University, implemented the Communication Strategies and Child Rights Course. More than 25 participants from various governmental and nongovernmental institutions attended the course.

The authorities present at the event were: Mr. Easton Williams, Director of Social Policy, Planning and Research Division, Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ); Mrs. Carla Francis-Edie, Executive Director, Child Development Agency (CDA) and Principal Delegate of Jamaica to the Directing Council of the IIN; Mr. Newton Douglas, Director Policy Planning & Evaluation Division, CDA and the Technical Liaison of Project IIN-ACDI in Jamaica; and Mr. George Leamon, Technical Assistant of Project IIN-ACDI, Head of the IIN Delegation and Mrs. Kerry-Ann Lewis Pearcy, National Coordinator of Project IIN-ACDI in Jamaica, IIN-OAS.

The main objectives of this course were to develop a training that: improved local stakeholders’ awareness on the Rights of the Child and the various laws in Jamaica that speak to these rights, inclusive of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and provided a guide on how participants can actively put child rights into practice by effectively communicating the Rights of the Child through various media as well as ensuring that in communicating matters pertaining to children that their rights are respected, promoted and protected.

The training will be delivered using the combined approach of a Face-to-Face course and a virtual interactive platform. After concluding the Face-to-Face course, participants will take a three-week online course facilitated by CARIMAC.