The Pitons Management Area (PMA) Office within the Department of Sustainable Development is collaborating with the Saint Lucia National Commission for UNESCO to support the establishment of a PMA-UNESCO Club.

UNESCO Clubs have three main functions: training, dissemination of information, and action. Action is the essential condition for the existence of a UNESCO Club.

Establishment of the PMA-UNESCO Club is in keeping with SDG 17, which encourages and supports effective public, private and civil society partnerships. It is expected that the PMA-UNESCO Club will help to increase youth engagement in heritage and biodiversity conservation and promotion, and collective action through training, information sharing, and advocacy.

According to Hon. Dr. Gale Rigobert, Minister of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations, and Sustainable Development, “when we engage and we consult, we minimize anxiety; and we establish the basis for productive and sustainable partnerships.”

The PMA-UNESCO Club will be an affiliate of the PMA Office but will function as an independent, not-for-profit organization governed by a constitution approved at its inaugural meeting. Its management team will comprise students, interested youth, PMA Office Advisors, Teacher-Mentors, and representatives of the National Commission for UNESCO.

The membership mobilization process is now complete, and the PMA-UNESCO Club will be launched on Wednesday, April 3, from 10 a.m. at the Leisure Inn in Soufriere. Approximately 50 students and staff from secondary schools on island will participate in the one-day launch programme. The day commences with activities geared toward formal establishment of the PMA-UNESCO Club and ends with a formal launch ceremony which commences at 1:30 and ends at 3 p.m.

For details, contact the PMA Office, Soufriere via email at pa.manager.dsd@gmail.com or pmawhs@gosl.gov.lc or via telephone at 457-1635.