Given the vital role of effective communication, and in keeping with a renewed and comprehensive Communications Strategy, the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment has hosted a two-day Communications Training Workshop aimed at building capacity amongst social workers. This initiative, developed in partnership with the Canadian University Services Overseas (CUSO International), under the Gender Equality Project, emphasizes the strategic use of media and communication tools to improve service delivery and workplace efficiency.

Social and Behavioral Specialist and Workshop Facilitator Dr. Bennet Charles highlighted the workshop’s objectives stating, “The 2-day training workshop will focus on the development of social workers to engage community members, ensuring that they build on effective speaking skills. This forum also dives into the ability of social workers to effectively use social media platforms to develop and disseminate captivating stories for dissemination and be satisfied with the services that the Ministry offers.”

The interactive training not only supports the Ministry of Equity’s broader Communication Strategy, currently being rolled out in various forms, but also equips staff with essential skills to ensure informed representation across all departments.

“We are starting the training off with communication in an effort to roll out our Communications Strategy, and one of the things that the Ministry is looking forward to doing is to ensure that all departments within the Ministry are knowledgeable and fully represented when matters pertaining to the Ministry are discussed,” explained Acting Director for Social Transformation, Tanzia Toussaint.

Participants found the workshop timely and impactful, particularly in light of their interactions with the public and media. “The communication and media workshop is extremely important because as Social Transformation Officers, we interact with the media daily. We also have messages that we want to craft to the public, so therefore we must know how to craft these messages and send out messages that are relevant with content that the public can easily absorb. So, I hope to gain more experience in ways to better understand and serve the Babonneau residents,” stated Darnally Estava, Social Transformation Officer for Babonneau.

For Family Caseworker Renita Bondiemaitre of the Soufriere and Choiseul region, the workshop provided critical tools to enhance investigative fieldwork and community outreach efforts. “This workshop is very beneficial to me since it will assist me in my field investigations where I will now be able to ask the right questions to get the information that I am looking for and also, since I do have a radio programme called Family Matters on 88.5 Soufriere FM, this will equip me with the necessary skills needed to be more effective,” remarked, Bondiemaitre.

By equipping social workers with robust communication skills, the Ministry of Equity is seeking to ensure more effective representation of its services and a deeper connection with the communities it serves.