Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 20, 2017 (SKNIS): The contribution of men, the sacrifices and progress they have made in their homes, communities and society on a whole were recognized on Sunday, November 19, during the 2017 International Men’s Day Award Ceremony held at the Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI).
The Department of Gender Affairs hosted the annual event under the theme “Celebrating Men and Boys in all of their Diversity”.
“The theme for this year was designed to focus on shared objectives, which are applied equally to men and boys irrespective of their age, ability, social background, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, religious belief and relationship status,” said Dion Browne, Gender Field Officer. “As we strive to achieve gender equality as a nation, it is imperative that empowering men and boys be a part of the agenda.”
Mr. Browne added that it is understood that the achievement of gender equality is not possible without the active involvement and support of men.
“Men must be reached and included so that intervention for women and girls are not derailed by male resistance,” he said.
Minister of State with responsibility for Gender Affairs, Honourable Senator Wendy Phipps, summed up manhood as being “a mentor and a nurturer who is honest and humble, open to change and objective, determined and a defender of his race.” She said that the men being honoured possess traits of what a man should be.
“Somebody who epitomizes humility; somebody who considers obedience to God being more important than obedience to man and who is more concerned about doing what is right rather than satisfying what would be a societal expectation and that is part of what we celebrate this evening,” said Senator Phipps.
Minister Phipps said that all the awardees would have done “something in a simple, but meaningful way in terms of advancing and assisting in the life and in the turnaround or the metamorphosis of some young man, whether it was a group of young men or just a single individual.”
The men awarded were Dwight Berridge in the field of Media; Hilton Clarke in the field of Education; Percy Daniel in Law Enforcement; Quinton Morton in Religion; Lonzo A. Wilkinson in Youth Development and Sports; Eustace Warner in Creative and Performing Arts and Floyd Henry in Construction and Architecture.
According to the Department of Gender Affairs, “men make sacrifices every day in their place of work, in their role as husbands and fathers, for their families, for their friends, for their communities and for their nation. International Men’s Day is an opportunity for people everywhere of goodwill to appreciate and celebrate the men in their lives and the contribution they make to society for the greater good of all.”
