Following on last Wednesday’s first webinar in the series of environmental education activities hosted by the CultureMedia Service Inc (CMSI) for the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP)-Dominica, the two organizations are collaborating further to bring the second in the series, targeting media organizations and major institutions with communications capacity in Dominica, this Wednesday 20^th April, from 10:00 a.m via zoom.

This week’s webinar will focus primarily on the work of the Ministry of Blue and Green Economy, Agriculture and National Food Security; the Ministry of Environment, Rural Modernisation and Kalinago Upliftment and; and the Climate Resilience Execution Agency for Dominica (CREAD) along with the work of the local GEF Small Grants Programme.  These agencies are expected to highlight their work programme and provide opportunities to further engage the local media in ways to amplify the messaging on the environment as well as identify opportunities for further networking and collaboration to communicate more effectively on measures to secure a sustainable pathway to Dominica’s development.

Last week’s webinar highlighted among other things, the need for broader participation of grassroots organizations in serving as better stewards of the environment and promoted a range of ideas, options and avenues for NGOs, community-based organizations and others in civil society to more effectively engage in designing programmes and to more adequately promote actions to protect Dominica’s environment and work cooperatively to mitigate against the impact of climate change in the country and the region.

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Following on the presentations by the various entities, there were major takeaways which will remain a key part of the strategy to promote environmental sustainability and development for Dominica. Among these being:

• Recognition of the importance of the role of communities and community-based organizations
• The importance of supporting community initiatives as people are major agents of change
•  Need for continuous mobilization of funding and material resources for effective engagement in environmental protection and management
• Inter-agency collaboration to mobilize resources and mobilize local actions seen as critical step in the process
• The importance of sharing information with the communities on a frequent and timely basis 

• Importance of the role of media institutions and the use of traditional and social media in disseminating information to the public

• Importance of training in mitigation, response and in effecting better communication with the public 

• No downtime and no off-season in the protection and management of the environment

• The important role of local languages in the effective communication with the public

• The importance of continuous and effective planning and policy formulation

• There are positive benefits for the individual, groups and the country in the good management of the country’s natural environment

The organizers are hoping for another successful and engaging webinar and plan to use the occasion to forge greater partnerships with the local media in an effort to present a more sustained and unified approach to communicating messages, policies, programmes and effective actions as Dominica continues on its path towards becoming the first climate resilient nation in the world.