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

“The flush toilet, more than any single invention, has 'civilized' us in a way that religion and law could never accomplish.”- Thomas Lynch. We all have to go; regardless of whether or not we have the latest lavatory. We live in a world where inventions and technology appear to be ahead of most of us. Smart phones and smart television are now the normal; now technology has brought on the world stage smart toilets. Who would have thought that toilets could be prefixed by the term smart? Smart toilets have been around for quite some time. Many of us have seen and have used them in public places and in some homes. The global smart toilet market size is expected to reach USD 12.7 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. These smart toilets are outfitted with sensors that activate the flushing mechanism. The sensors are able to detect the distance of your body and flushes automatically. Smart toilets are intelligent toilet sanitary wares that automatic...

“More than ever, we need this universal humanist medium, vector of freedom. Without radio, the right to information and freedom of expression and, with them, fundamental freedoms would be weakened, as would cultural diversity, since community radio stations are the voices of the voiceless."- Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. What is your favourite radio programme? The Colgate Cavity Fighters Club aired on RJR many years ago is among my favourite. The United Nations General Assembly in 2012 designated February 13 as World Radio Day (WRD). Radio is important; in fact some will argue that radio is the most important medium of mass communication in Jamaica and the Caribbean. Jamaica currently has 28 radio stations; some of which are community-based. Radio also serves as a primary means of socialization. There are numerous reasons for the popularity of radio as a mean of disseminating information. The mobility of radio ranks at the top of the reasons for th...

“Female genital mutilation targets little girls, baby girls, fragile angels who are helpless, who cannot fight back. It’s a crime against a child, a crime against humanity. It’s abuse. It’s absolutely criminal and we have to stop it.”- Waris Dirie. In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly designated February 6 as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. The concept of female genital mutilation appears rather alien for most of us who live in the Western world; however, for millions of females this torture is their reality. The United Nations Population Fund states that there are approximately 30 countries which currently adhere to this form of human rights abuse. These include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Togo, Zambia, Senegal, Tanzania an...

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) wetlands are ecosystems saturated with water, either seasonally or permanently. They store water and ensure its quality, providing resilience against drought. Wetlands play a central role in sustainable development by supplying all our fresh water. According to the RAMSAR Convention, wetlands include: “all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peat lands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans. The Convention on Wetlands was signed in Ramsar, Iran, 1971. One of the most common types of wetland in Jamaica is the mangrove wetland, which is found along coasts, coastal rivers, tidal creeks, around ponds, lagoons and on small islands (cays). In Jamaica, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) is the agency responsible...

“People who are homeless are not social inadequates. They are people without homes.”- Sheila McKechnie. The United Nations states that within the next few years, and for the first time in human history, more people will live in cities and towns than in rural areas. This process of urbanization is linked to what has been called the ‘urbanization of poverty’, the fact that a rapidly increasing proportion of the world’s poor are now living in urban areas. In developing countries, sprawling slums and squatter settlements and a multitude of street children roaming the streets looking for income-earning opportunities or a place to spend the night are the most striking manifestations of this. The inhabitants of even the most affluent countries are reminded that poverty is present even there every time they encounter a homeless person. Jamaica is currently going through the above-mentioned prediction by the United Nations Development Fund. The Jamaican state is bedevilled by many social ills....

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”- Nelson Mandela. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented educational disruption in the Caribbean Small Island Developing States. Most governments in the English and Dutch Caribbean sub-region have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We all are living through this pandemic, many of us have lost loved ones or friends to the novel coronavirus, indeed many of us have had to be living with long term health complications as a result of having contracted the coronavirus. Our nation’s children have suffered immensely since the education system was ordered closed in March of 2020. There are some who argue that the best way forward rests with students repeating a year; however, many educators have not found favour with this recommendation. It is well r...

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a special individual. He came unto the world scene at a time when his presence and words of reassurance and encouragement were needed the most. One can only imagine living in that period of history where one’s skin colour was the marker by which one was judged. Indeed many of us took for granted King’s I have a dream speech. We have all seen the numerous black and white video footage of Dr. King addressing huge crowds all over the United States of America. Dr. King was eloquent as he was fearless as he spoke about the multiplicity of injustices towards African Americans in a racially divided United States of America. Regrettably, 58 years after King’s iconic I have A Dream Speech, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington; the United States of America is ...