St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister gives Support to "Small Islands' Voice" Project

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS (JANUARY 15TH 2002) - St. Kitts and Nevis has been included in a pilot project which will provide people from small islands an opportunity to voice their opinions on environment-development issues.

Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas on Tuesday expressed gratitude to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for including the twin-island Federation in the project which involved three small island states worldwide.

Dr. Douglas told visiting internationally-respected environmentalist and UNESECO Consultant, Dr. Gillian Cambers, when she paid him a courtesy visit, that he is grateful that the twin-island Federation will be the focal point in the Caribbean. The small island state in the Indian Ocean that is participating in the initiative, is the Seychelles. The island state in the Pacific Ocean is still be to identified.

Dr. Douglas pledged the support of his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Government at the highest political level, to the Small Islands' Voice 2004 initiative, which seeks to overcome the isolation of small islands by building capacity and strengthening internal, regional and inter-regional communication by obtaining islanders' views and opinions on environment-development issues at the local level through community-initiated activities supported by radio, television and print media; debating these views among a larger audience through Internet-based discussions and seeking the views of young islanders on environment-development issues.

Dr. Cambers said the project will be launched in April and that she was elated St. Kitts and Nevis had accepted to be involved in the pilot project. She pointed out that the twin-island Federation will benefit from the programme well beyond the two year project.

She said since arriving in the Federation, she has had useful meetings with officials from several government ministries and departments and with representatives of non-governmental organisations. Also attending the meeting were Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Oaklyn Peets and UNESCO's Secretary General in St. Kitts and Nevis, Ms. Dauna Manchester.

SOURCE: St. Kitts and Nevis Tourism Authority, January 15th, 2002