The International Women in Employment and Business Conference slated for March 1, is already creating excitement in St. Kitts and Nevis and across the region. The conference, which is being hosted by the Windsor University School of Medicine in Cayon, will be bringing a delegation of seven (7) distinguished professional women from the United Kingdom to share their expertise alongside an impressive roster of presenters from across St. Kitts and Nevis. The keynote speech is slated to be given by Professor Laura Serrant, OBE reflecting the conference theme of Resilience and Readiness in a Global Environment.
The list of local presenters include Mr Hensley Daniel, Public Policy Consultant and Former Deputy Premier of Nevis, Ms Patricia Walters, CEO of the Cable, Mr Faron Lawrence, President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Dr Tamu Browne, Entrepreneurship Coach, and Mrs Ingrid Charles-Gumbs, Former Director of Gender Affairs in St Kitts.
With the UN Gender Equality agenda in mind, the conference promises to have a unique focus on how both men and women can harmonise their efforts so that women can increase their capacity to take on leadership roles and responsibilities. The full conference programme aims to deal with questions such as:
How can we build stronger families so that women can release their professional potential in employment and in business?
How can women increase self-understanding to set their personal and professional goals?
What are the knowledge and skills that women have that remain untapped? And how can women develop confidence and competence to navigate a leadership position?
How can women avoid obstacles that sabotage their success in higher education?
How can women establish professional networks in the USA and the UK to assist with your professional development and career progression?.
Notably, Ms Sheryll Cadogan, who has St Kitts heritage, will be using techniques from her “Womanhood Academy” in a special workshop with local youths. An award-winning actress and Director of her own Charity Reality Bytes UK, Ms Cadogan specialises in inspiring girls to utilise their talents and prepare them for success at all levels of society.
On the second day of the conference, a limited number of ‘jump-start’ coaching sessions can be reserved by attendees on a first-come-first-served basis at registration on March 1.
Participants from other Caribbean islands the USA and the UK are expected to attend the conference. The importance of the conference has been noted by both organisations in the Federation and regionally and continues to establish St Kitts-Nevis as one of the pace-setters for implementing the UN Gender Equality agenda.