PRESS RELEASE – THE Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme United Nations Development Programme (GEF SGP UNDP) yesterday (Friday 1st June 2018, presented its 5th Annual Report to the People and Government of Saint Lucia.
The event took place at the Financial Centre, Pointe Seraphine, Castries, where over 120 invited guests from around Saint Lucia had been invited for the closed session.
Invited guests included Government Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Senior Technical Officers of the Government of Saint Lucia, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, and Grantees from around Saint Lucia.
In addition to the presentation of the Annual Report by Mr. Giles Romulus, the National Coordinator, there were also presentations on cutting-edge climate-smart technology in agriculture by members of the Saint Lucia Agricultural Forum for Youth and the Saint Lucia Coalition for Service Industries.
Also hosted was an exhibition by grantees and sale of genuine (100%) Saint Lucian products like Honey, from Fond St. Jacques, Des Barras, Coolie Town, Gros Islet, Bois d’en, and Choiseul.
The Honourable Gale Rigobert, the Minister responsible for the GEF in Saint Lucia was carded to make a special announcement in her speech and citations from the GEF SGP UNDP were to be read and presented to six outgoing members of the National Steering Committee (NSC).
Finally, contracts for grants amounting to $195,000 were to be signed with the Saint Lucia Teachers’ Union and the Canabelle Cooperative Society Ltd of Canaries.
There was also to be an Open Session for the public from 2:00p.m. to 4:00p.m. at the Financial Centre, when members of the public could also have visited the exhibition.
During that time, there was also to be a project clinic for representatives of any Civil Society Organisation, which includes Non-Governmental Organisations, Community Based Organisations, Faith Based Organisations and Service Clubs, who wished to discuss project ideas and determine the eligibility of their ideas for grant funding.
All Saint Lucian CSOs with environmental and sustainable development projects which protect the environment and create employment, in areas such as alternative energy, agroforestry, pollution reduction, agro-tourism, and resource management to name a few, were invited for one-on-one discussions. (GEF SGP UNDP)