CANADA, in partnership with the Equality Fund and the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, launched the Women’s Voice and Leadership Project in eight countries in the Caribbean, including Guyana and Suriname on Thursday.

According to a release, the Women’s Voice and Leadership Caribbean Project is a part of a global programme funded by the Government of Canada and designed to provide support for local women’s organisations and movements that advance women’s rights.
The programme will strive to improve the performance, management and sustainability of regional Women`s Rights Organisations (WROs), particularly those representing the vulnerable and marginalised women and girls.

It will also work to increase effectiveness of regional networks and alliances to affect policy, legal and social change in the Caribbean Region. Following a competitive process, Red Thread, Makushi Research Unit (MRU), Wapichan Wiizi Women’s Movement, Guyana RainBow Foundation (GuyBow), Guyana Trans United (GTU) and Women’s Wednesdays Guyana were chosen for the implementation of the project in Guyana and Women`s Way Foundation, Suriname Coalition of Sex Workers and Stichting Projekta were selected for Suriname.

Funding for these organisations will be provided for social change programmes and advocacy initiatives, capacity-building for women’s and LGBTQ organisations and building networks and alliances for policy and social change. The virtual launch included a panel discussion about the role of the Women’s Voice and Leadership project and featured Janine Cocker – Counsellor for Development Cooperation at the High Commission of Canada to Guyana and Suriname; Amina Doherty – Programme Director, Women’s Voice and Leadership Caribbean and Kerry Jo Ford Lyn – Director, Global Development Partnership, Director, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice.
Cocker noted, “For many years Women’s Rights Organisations have been chronically underfunded which has been a key obstacle in the delivery of effective programming to advance gender equality.” She added that the project will “strengthen capacity, leadership and the agendas of women’s rights and LBTIQ groups across the world and specifically those in the Caribbean”.

Representatives of the chosen Women’s Rights Organisations also talked about the work they are doing in their various communities. Cocker stated, “These organisations will add and deepen our knowledge of some of the gender barriers in both countries so that we can overcome them.”
Canada shares the Caribbean’s vision of becoming an economic and climate resilient region by 2030, and firmly believes that promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls is the most effective approach to achieve this vision.

Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is at the heart of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy and in the delivery of all of its international assistance. As such, CAD$4.5M beneficiary funding was allocated for the Women`s Voice and Leadership Project which is a five-year long project (2019-2024), working with 27 Women`s Rights Organisations (WROs) in eight Caribbean countries. Immediately, following the launch in Guyana and Suriname, the Women’s Voice and Leadership Project was also launched in Jamaica, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and St. Lucia.