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

“We must use existing biological resources more efficiently, and waste less, instead of relying on finite fossil-based resources.” - QU Dongyu, Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the ocean. The fact is many of us are clueless regarding what to do with old gadgets, electronic devices and waste in general. Unfortunately, the issue is further compounded by a waste management system which is unreliable concerning the service they provide for the citizenry as well as a culture void of recycling opportunities. The international community observes for the first time the International Day of Zero Waste. It is important to give some background to this day. On 14 December 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution at its seventy-seventh session to proclaim 30 March as International Day of Zero Waste , to be observed annually. The United Nations (UN) states t

“The legacy of centuries of enslavement, exploitation, and colonial rule reverberates to this day. We must learn and teach the history of slavery: the crime against humanity; the unprecedented mass human trafficking; the unspeakable human rights violations.”- António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. The narrative surrounding slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade cuts deep for those of us who are descendants of enslaved peoples. Undoubtedly, many of the problems being experienced by Caribbean societies are directly related to the scourge of slavery which bombarded these societies for more than 400 years. The legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade continue to reverberate decades after the abolition of slavery. The United Nations states that the enslavement of over 13 million Africans during the Transatlantic Slave Trade was driven by the racist ideology that these women, men and children were inferior because of the colour of their skin. Additionally, countless

“Water is our world's lifeblood, but it's being poisoned by pollution & drained by overuse.”- António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General. Many of us take water for granted. Contrastingly, billions of people and countless schools, businesses, healthcare centers, farms, and factories are being held back because their human rights to water and sanitation still need to be fulfilled. Alarmingly, more than 800,000 women and girls die yearly because of lack of water, basic sanitation and hygiene. Increased disease is apparent in the 44 million pregnant women with sanitation-related hookworm, which causes maternal anemia and pre-term births. World Water Day has been observed since 1993 on March 22. The day is set aside to raise awareness and inspires action to tackle the water and sanitation crisis. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is a United Nations observance coordinated by UN-W

“If we must die let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursed lot. If we must die oh, let us nobly die.” Claude McKay. Poetry is a form of literature that often celebrates abstraction and the beauty of words. Poetry is often used as a means of defiance against injustices. Poets often use a myriad of figures of speech to add colour and meaning to their poems. World Poetry Day is held each year on March 21 to celebrate “the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind.” The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) first adopted March 21 as World Poetry Day during its 30th General Conference in Paris in 1999. According to UNESCO, poetry is practiced throughout history; poetry includes various forms of language, expressions and signification. It is often accompanied by music (dub poetry) and performed during special occasions. Wor

“Our personal consumer choices have ecological, social, and spiritual consequences. It is time to re-examine some of our deeply held notions that underlie our lifestyles.”- David Suzuki. Whether we shop at a supermarket uptown or at a wholesale downtown we are all consumers. World Consumer Rights Day is observed on March 15 annually. The day is set aside to raise awareness regarding consumer rights and needs. Consumer rights mean that every person who buys products, goods, and services, has the right to have information on the quality, purity, price, and standard of those products. Did you know that you have the right to file a complaint from anywhere, anytime as a consumer? Most people are not aware of their rights as consumers, so by celebrating this day, we make others aware of the right to demand protection and stay safe from fraudulent activities in the marketplace. In Jamaica, a consumer who believes he or she has been wronged can file a complaint with the Consumer Affairs Comm

“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or duty. It should be offered to them as a precious gift.”- Kate DiCamillo. According to Robert Jenkins, UNICEF Chief of Education, just reopening schools is not enough. Students need intensive support to recover lost education. Schools must also go beyond places of learning to rebuild children’s mental and physical health, social development and nutrition. The nation is still in the midst of an educational crisis. The crisis is global; however, locally our problem is worsening by our low literacy levels, especially in those institutions which have been neglected and where violence negatively impacts teaching and learning. As a society we do not read enough. Our non-reading culture has been compounded by the advent of social media and the COVID-19 pandemic. The unexpected shift from face-to-face instruction to more technologically mediated interaction and emergency remote education (ERE) was especially challenging for both teache

“Women make up more than half of the world’s population and potential, so it is neither just nor practical for their voices, for our voices, to go unheard at the highest levels of decision-making.”- Meghan Markle. The world remains unsafe for women and girls. As the international community pauses to observe International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8, 2023 we must remember those women whose lives have been taken away by a patriarchal system which remains intact in every society. One name which we should never forget is that of Mahsa Amini. The 22 year old Miss Amini was killed in September of 2022 while in custody by the morality police of Iran. Iran's so-called morality police have been documented to have used threats of detention and violence to control what Iranian women wear and how they behave in public. Interestingly, men in Iran are not policed by any morality police. One can logically argue that morality then is only an issue women face in Iran. Additionally, there was also

“Fashion should be a form of escapism, and not a form of imprisonment.”- Alexander McQueen The fashion capitals of the world mainly based in Europe and New York are all busy with feverish excitement as their annual runway shows are on in earnest. Fashion is ever evolving and with each generation a new perspective on fashion emerges. Many of us desire to look fashionable or stylish. However, there is a difference between the term fashion and what is considered fashionable. The term fashion is defined by Britannica as the style or styles of clothing and accessories worn at any given time by groups of people. Being fashionable is wearing what is en vogue or trending. The fashion industry is a multibillion-dollar global enterprise devoted to the business of making and selling clothes. According to Oberlo, a dropshipping App in 2014 the global apparel industry totaled $1.54 trillion and is expected to increase to $1.7 trillion in 2023. Some observers distinguish between the fashion

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) more than 360 million people live with disabling hearing loss. The WHO adds that more than 1 billion people aged 12-35 years are at risk of hearing loss due to recreational noise exposure. Over 60% of these can be identified and addressed at the primary level of care. A person is said to have hearing loss if they are not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing, meaning hearing thresholds of 20 dB or better in both ears. It can be mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe or profound, and can affect one or both ears. Major causes of hearing loss include congenital or early onset childhood hearing loss, chronic middle ear infections, noise-induced hearing loss, age-related hearing loss, and ototoxic drugs that damage the inner ear. The impact of hearing loss are broad and can be profound. They include a loss of the ability to communicate with others delayed language development in children, which can lead to social isolation,