Network's News
The Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for The Advancemet of Women has just recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary on December 09th 2009. In celebration of our 25th Anniversary, all our events will feature a ring of silver around it as we celebrate such a great milestone.Getting Women Ready For The THA and LOCAL Government Elections 2013. The Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women invites women interested in contesting local government elections in Trinidad and Tobago to register for its ‘Advancing Women’s -Transformational Leadership in Local Government Training Project’ which runs from September to December 2012.
CIWIL News Release-Caribbean Women Gather to Explore Ideas to Change Politics. Key women leaders of the Caribbean will gather in Port of Spain from June 29 to 30, 2011 to define a women’s political agenda and way forward for the region.
E-Discussion on Women's Political Participation in 21st Century. Women and men around the world have been using different technology platforms during their political campaigns and to continue dialogue with their constituencies as elected representatives.
Political Parties of the Caribbean by Steven Griner. Public opinion has not been kind to political parties in the Caribbean. Talk radio and newspaper editorials rail against corruption, nepotism and racketeering perpetuated by parties in government.
Women's Political Participation in Traditional and Conservative Societies. How can women overcome traditional and conservative stereotypes in society that poses barriers to women's political participation, especially in the cases when women face resistance to be elected through quotas or any other affirmative action measure?
Sweden Women's Representation in Parliament by IDEA. Sweden has the second highest percentage1 of female parliamentarians in the national parliament. 45.3 percent of the elected candidates were women in the 2002 election.
Network's Newsletter #9. Celebrating Our 50th Anniversary of Independence in Trinidad and Tobago
Network's Newsletter #8. International Women's Day 2012
Network's Newsletter #7. A New Beginning of a New Year
Network's Newsletter #6. A Newsletter discussing Women's Participation in Politics and the Elimination of Violence against Women
Network's Newsletter #5. Women as agents of change.
Network's Newsletter #4. Breaking news about women in Trinidad and Tobago.
CIWIL Document 2009. Critical Review of Selected Interventions in Support of Women’s Participation in Electoral Processes in the Caribbean in the period 2007-2008.
Network's Newsletter #3. We dealth mainly with Engendering Local Government in Tinidad and Tobago.
Network's Newsletter #2. We highlight such things as putting a woman in the House of Parliament, an ongoing project called Cooking with Sunshine, Gender Issues and The Sou Sou Bank.
The Women's Manifesto
This is our very first newsletter for 2010. We highlight such things as our anniversary, the newly elected Leader of the Opposition and many other significant news for women.
Protocol Training For Women in Local Government Election
Network moves to develop competence in political sphere
Protocol Matters – this is the title of a skills development programme for female candidates in the July 26 Local Government elections. It takes place from 9.30 am Monday (July 19) at the International Relations Boardroom of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.
A project of the Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women, the non-partisan workshop which will attract more than 50 candidates across party lines will be facilitated by protocol consultant Lenore Dorset, with Network coordinator Hazel Brown and international relations director, Dr Kris Rampersad. Candidates from all three political parties contesting the elections are expected to attend.
“Clearly, one of the major issues that surfaced in the recent national and likely to surface in the current local campaign has been how women can impact the political environment and sphere”, said Dr Rampersad, noting that there is an unacknowledged national disenchantment with the political culture and the ways in which politics is practiced and how political campaigns are conducted. She said the workshop will help sensitize women candidates to these issues, prepare them for potential challenges and provide strategies on how to avoid them and instead tool candidates on how to positively impact the political sphere in which they function.
“We believe that adoption of protocols and ethics of practice can also serve to help alleviate problems of crime, poverty and strengthening democracy; especially if instituted from the local government levels which are particularly close to communities which are the incubators for persons who would enter public life.”
The project is part of the Network’s campaign to ‘engender’ local government and increase not just the numbers but also the quality of women candidates in the elections. Brown stated that the Networks aim is for 50-50 participation by women in each of the next local government councils - that is 68 elected councilors and 16 aldermen, as well as a female Mayor for Port of Spain which has never had a woman Mayor. “At present there is only one female Mayor (in Chaguanas), one female Deputy Mayor (San Fernando), and one female Chairman (at Tunapuna). There are three councils: Mayaro and Penal/Debe, which have no women councilors - elected or aldermen, and Siparia which has no elected female councillors and only one female alderman.”
She noted that 85 women will contest the 2010 local government elections to take place on Monday July 26, 2010. This number is five less than the total number of women contesting in 2003. The number of seats to be contested has been increased from 124 to 135, in 14 municipal Corporations in Trinidad. As in previous elections the PNM has fielded the largest number of women - 47, while the People’s Partnership has put forward 38 (26 from UNC and 12 from COP.)
At present there are 38 women out of 124 elected councilors and five aldermen out of 31 positions, in local government. While this represents a 100% increase over the 1996 figure, it is significantly below the stipulated 50:50.
The Network anticipates that this part of its political skills training programme, will help provide a critical mass of competent, effective, gender sensitive, committed women politicians to influence decision making in local political bodies and pass on to other elected or appointed representatives as well as to help create an enabling environment for women’s effective participation in decision making processes.