UWI lecturer speaks at Commonwealth Forum in London

University Director of The University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS), Prof Verene Shepherd, will address more than 500 parliamentarians at the inaugural Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s (CPA) Regional Hot Topics (RHT). The forum is scheduled for today at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London, England, from 2 to 5 p.m. (UK time).

The event, hosted by the Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic Region (CAAR), is one of nine regional fora across the CPA region groupings, and will take place during the annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference of the CPA in London. Intended to provide a space for discourse between CPA membership and the wider community on topics of specific regional relevance, the forum will focus on “Seeking to Increase Women’s Political Participation”.

Prof Shepherd is expected to present on “Critical Mass vs Critical Actors: Increasing Parliamentary Presence, Increasing Social Justice” and to also sit on the panel at the CAAR’s forum.

Recognising her significant expertise and contribution to the region in the area of gender and development, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Montserrat, Shirley M Osborne, in her capacity as vice-chair of the CPA and regional chair of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), tagged Prof Shepherd’s participation in the forum as “invaluable”.

Prof Shepherd has effectively integrated the disciplines of history and gender studies into her research (individual and institutional), publication, teaching and public service, championing gender mainstreaming and history education inside and outside of the university. She has led UWI’s IGDS research teams on a variety of issues central to gender and development and as a scholar-activist uses a diverse range of platforms, including radio, to popularise history and gender studies. Read more

Source: Trinidad Express