The Women and Development Unit (WAND) is a reconstituted specialised unit of the Consortium of Social Development of Research, of the UWI Open Campus. The Unit centres women and their families in Caribbean Development through community outreach, online learning, and technical partnerships in policy development, research and advocacy.
Four strategic areas guide the work of WAND:
- Strategic Area 1: Women, Gender and Caribbean Economies
- Strategic Area 2: Technical Partnerships in Gender, Research, Policy
Development and Advocacy
- Strategic Area 3: Women’s Rights and Regional and Global Activism via Social
Media
- Strategic Area 4: Institutional Strengthening and Empowerment
Over the next four years (2018-2022), all of WAND’s activities and initiatives will be based on the four strategic areas and will focus on (8) objectives.
Strategic Area 1: Women, Gender and Caribbean Economies
Objective 1. Establish WAND as a centre for the study and analysis of women, gender and the economies in the Caribbean through various mechanisms such as public forums, community outreach, and/or research projects.
Objective 2. Establish WAND as an online learning centre for specialised professional course in gender and development, with emphasis on development management, economics and planning.
Strategic Area 2: Technical Partnerships in Gender, Research, Policy Development and Advocacy
Objective 3. Improve the visibility of WAND through seeking of cost effective community outreach activities; research projects and partnerships within the Open Campus, the Institute of Gender and Development Studies, other UWI departments and academics; and with select government agencies and NGOs in Barbados and the wider Caribbean;
Objective 4. Establish WAND as a centre of technical expertise in policy development and advocacy in gender and development issues.
Strategic Area 3: Regional Applied Research To Support Advocacy, Law Reform and Social Justice
Movements
Objective 5. Support human rights advocacy and activism throughout the Caribbean and globally by participating or initiating online and face-to-face activist efforts.
Strategic Area 4: Institutional Strengthening and Empowerment
Objective 6. Support women’s empowerment internally through the rationalisation and improvement of staff positions that support its branding, and restructuring efforts.
Objective 7. Develop and sustaining social media presence that documents its activity in order to enhance visibility and attract funding;
Objective 8. Identify resources and partnerships which enhance WAND’s physical infrastructure.
