The Intersection of Gender, Culture and Education: Jamaica: The Next 50 Years!

“Technology can provide new tools for protecting linguistic diversity. Such tools, for example, facilitating their spread and analysis, allow us to record and preserve languages which sometimes exist only in oral form. Put simply, they make local dialects a shared heritage. However, because the Internet poses a risk of linguistic uniformization, we must also be aware that technological progress will serve plurilingualism only as long as we make the effort to ensure that it does”.- Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh. It was approved at the 1999 United Nations Educational, Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference and has been observed throughout the world since 2000. UNESCO believes in the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies; and in preserving the differences in cultures and languages that foster tolerance and respect...

Radio was introduced to Jamaica in the 1930s, and is the oldest, most popular electronic medium. Those of us who are old enough will remember a time in Jamaica when we only had 2 radio stations: Radio Jamaica Re-diffusion (RJR) and Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC). In 1939, the first broadcast in Jamaica was transmitted via a shortwave “ham” operated unit from the Seaview Avenue home of John Grinan. After May 1, 1940, a small staff was employed and daily broadcasts began on June 3, 1940. Interestingly, the Second World War began in 1939 and ended in 1945. The call sign was VP5PZ and offered wartime news and information for a half-hour once a week. The first radio station VP5PZ later became ZQI in 1940 and broadcast for ten years. A license was granted in 1949 to the Jamaica Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Re-diffusion Group, London. This license gave the company the right to operate regular broadcasting and rediffusion services, and the Jamaica Broadcasting Company too...

"The impact of armed conflict on children is everyone's responsibility. And it must be everyone's concern."- Graca Machel. The world as we know it has never had a prolonged time of peace. Children around the world continue to suffer from the consequences of conflicts and are still being used as replaceable fuel of war. Despite repeated calls for peace, globally, there are pockets of armed conflicts as the geopolitical dynamics and diplomacy are rather fluid constructs. Children are always the most vulnerable in times of conflict. Sadly, we have seen children used as human shields as well as suicide bombers. War is a multi-billion industry and many countries invest heavily in arms and other weapons of mass destruction. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) states that almost US$2trillion was spent on arms in 2020. The five highest spenders were the United States, China, India, Russia and the United Kingdom. February 12th is the International D...

“We need all hands on deck , and that means clearing hurdles for women and girls as they navigate careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”- Michelle Obama. The statistics globally indicate that more girls are in school today than ever before, however girls do not always have the same opportunities as boys to complete and benefit from an education of their choice. Regrettably, too many girls and women are held back by biases, social and cultural norms and expectations. These limitations negatively impact the quality of the education women and girls receive and the subjects they study. Girls are particularly under-represented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, and consequently in STEM careers. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #5 addresses gender equality. Unfortunately, gender inequalities are still deep-rooted in every society. Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and, therefore, also half of its...

“Because women and girls are not valued equally as human beings, they are treated as less than such. Female Genital Mutilation is one example of this that has to be stopped.”- Waris Dirie. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is one of the most barbaric and severe forms of gender-based violence. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a practice that involves altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons, and it is internationally recognized as a human rights violation. At least 200 million girls and women across the world today have undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), FGM is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15, for a variety of cultural and social reasons which vary from region to region. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified FGM into four broad categories: Type I : Partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or the prepuce. Type II : Partial or total removal of the clitoris and l...