Institute for Gender and Development Studies

International Women's Day 
March 8 

Every year the Institute organises an event or creative production to commemorate International Women’s Day. From 2003 through to 2005, these events were artistic productions held on campus. In 2003 Jazzabelle, showcased the talents - of female jazz musicians and female led ensembles. In 2004, Men Who Love Women and featured artists such as 3Canal and the Black Stalin, among others. The 2005 production featured the group Ten Sisters – song, portrayal and spoken word – focused on the growing phenomenon of gun violence in Trinidad & Tobago. In 2006, the Institute hosted a participatory workshop entitled The Man Package on the St. Augustine Campus. This was done through an interactive, open air, revolutionary workshop called It Takes Two based upon the It Takes Two Revolutionary School series held in 2002. In 2010 the Institute hosted a multi-media special lunchtime seminar entitled, From One to Many: Techno-Politics, Revolution and the Art of the Possible featuring the presentation Audre Lorde and the Longing for Home(land) given by Dr. Alexis De Veaux and the TED Talk by Dr. Gabrielle Jamela Hosein A Revolution is a Way of Life. In 2011, the Institute created an IGDS and Friends Calendar of Events for International Women’s Month, commemorating 100 years of International Women’s Day which shared events by IGDS Friends such as Millennium Sistahs, ASPIRE, AFETT, CAFRA and the Ministry of Planning, Economic and Social Restructuring and Gender Affairs.

World Water Day
March 22

In commemoration of World Water Day (March 22), the Women Gender Water Network (WGWN) of the IGDS, joined with RBC Caribbean and its local partners (Matelot Community School and Community, Kairi Institute of Knowledge and the Water Resources Agency of the Water and Sewerage Authority), in hosting an “Educational River Lime” for children at the Matelot Community School, Matelot to build further awareness of water issues within their community. Those in attendance were the children who attended the RBC Caribbean Blue Water Project -sponsored First Children Vacation Water Camps in 2010. The educational lime consisted of a storytelling and a gender and water game developed by the Research and Outreach Desk of the IGDS in collaboration with Dr. Fredericka Deare and Ms. Keizel Kidd entitled, “Who Does What?” This interactive exercise explores gender roles and responsibilities around water use and management within families and community. As part of the event, the children also tested and recorded the quality of water in the Matelot River, a key communal source of water used for recreational and domestic purposes.

International Students' Day
November 17

The 17th of November is the International Students' Day, an international observance of student activism. The date commemorates the anniversary of the 1939 Nazi storming of the University of Prague after demonstrations against the killing of Jan Opletal and the occupation of Czechoslovakia, and the execution of nine student leaders, over 1200 students sent to concentration camps, and the closing of all Czech universities and colleges. Website

Universal Children’s Day
November 20

United Nations Universal Children’s Day was established in 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare. November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 1990, Universal Children's Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the declaration and the convention on children's rights. Website

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

World AIDS Day
December 1

World AIDS Day is held on the 1st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988. Website