2021 was still heavily marked by the Covid19 pandemic worldwide, and the Caribbean was not spared. Mobility between the Islands was impaired with governments trying to protect the most vulnerable with quarantines, curfews, and lockdowns.
2021 was also the year of the CoP26 in Glasgow, and the well-deserved nomination of PM Mottley of Barbados as a UN Champion of the Earth.
Both these events highlighted the need for more cooperation and integrated sustainable approach to development in the Caribbean.
2021, a pivotal year
For Unite Caribbean, 2021 allowed us to reaffirm our values and to firmly reposition ourselves on our core areas of expertise.
Through our projects, we strengthened civil society organisations in St Martin and helped CSOs of 7 French and English-speaking countries work together on climate resilience. We also created successful public-private collaborations to ensure collection and recycling of plastics in Saint Lucia, bringing together CSOs, municipalities, public utilities, volunteers and corporate partners. We finally co-created the first francophone Gateways to Global Careers, a TVET programme for Saint-Lucian students and young entrepreneurs to access to French markets.
Through our consulting services, we assessed and proposed a training plan for Haitian governmental agencies in terms of climate change adaptation, designed a cooperation strategy for the Collectivité de Saint Martin, and developed a project management training programme in three languages for 37 Caribbean Marine Protected Areas . We additionally assisted the Haitian government for the Cop26, in preparing their Adaptation Communication, building the delegates’ capacity and supporting during the negotiations in Glasgow.
Moving towards 2022
In 2022, Unite Caribbean has several exciting missions ahead. In Haiti, we were awarded a contract with the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre to strengthen municipalities’ capacities in terms of access to climate finance, including a gender perspective. We are also analysing citizens’ and women’s participation in local processes and drafting recommendations for improvements. Finally, we are strengthening our public recycling capacity in the OECS with the replication of the RePLAST system in Grenada and the development of medical waste management plans in St Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda and Surinam in partnership with UNIDO.
In 2022, we will also increase our investments in our internal processes and human resources to continue deliver premium consulting services and impactful development projects in the Caribbean.
