Thumbs up for Elect Her
Published:Monday | March 10, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Shanica Blair, Gleaner Writer
The words of Helen Keller, "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do," were the mantra for a speech on 'making an impact', by Senator Imani Duncan-Price last Saturday (March 1) at the Elect Her - Campus Women Win, the only programme that trains college women to run for student government and future office.
The one-day training programme which was being held at the University of the West Indies for the fifth time, saw the senator, a strong believer in gender equality, using the programme as her catalyst for a motion she proposed in Parliament last year and again last Friday regarding women in leadership. In the motion, she speaks to the need for gender equality to promote economic efficiency and inclusive growth and to address the lag in women's participation in leadership and decision-making roles.
The facilitator for the programme was overseas-based Tasha Cole, who currently works as the vice-president of Resource Development for Congressional Black Causus Foundation. She conducted the exercises for the day, which included how to go about making a campaign work, elevator speech, campaign stimulation, strategy sharing and Elect Her network. Other activities included a talk from Roger Bent and a panel discussion regarding the nuts and bolts of running for student government, headed by Jeneil Brown (hall chair - Mary Seacole Hall), Daviane Tucker (UWI Guild librarian, Royanne Desilva (Guild EAC) and Kimberley Bremmer (Humanities and Education representative).
The feedback was tremendous, as approximately 80 young women filled the Neville Hall Lecture Theatre for the workshop which ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The attendants were from various institutions across the island namely The University of the West Indies, The Mico University Western Jamaica Campus, Immaculate Conception High School, St Hugh's High school and the Caribbean Maritime Institute.
At the end of the day, Ramoy Palmer of St Hugh's High School was named the Elect Her winner after doing the training courses, campaigning stimulation and elevator speech - the main components needed to win the award.
successful training
An elated coordinator of the Elect Her training at the UWI, Mona, Ayesha Constable told Flair that the training which was a success, seeks to build women's confidence in their leadership ability and teach them the intricacies of running for a campaign.
Nadeen Spence, the student services and development manager of Mary Seacole Hall, is the visionary and leader behind the introduction of the programme to Jamaica, which was first debuted on nine campuses in the United States, with The University of the West Indies being the only campus outside of North America to have hosted the workshop.