November 2016


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At the 60th Annual General Meeting of the Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago, (FPATT ) Dean of The UWI St. Augustine’s Faculty of Law, Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine was elected as the new FPATT president.

Professor Antoine succeeds immediate past President Gerry Brooks and other notable former Presidents including Grace Talma, a recent Chaconia Gold awardee, and Emile Elias, eminent businessman and altruist. On her election, Antoine – who is the former President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights at the OAS, Washington and CARICOM Chair for HIV and Migration, pledged to do her “very best to upkeep the important vision and work of the noble and venerable institution that is the FPATT ” and thanked the organisation for giving her the opportunity to serve.

High on her list of priorities in her new role is continuing the goal of ensuring access to the FPATT ’s important services for all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, for example, through fundraising for a new mobile unit. In her remarks at the General Meeting, she spoke about the versatility of FPATT ’s vision: “I have met many NGOs in my life’s work as a scholar and an activist, but few have impressed me as much as FPATT in relation to the broad gamut of their work….I cannot help thinking that the FPATT is the Renaissance NGO of our time.”

The FPATT is one of the oldest and most respected NGOs of the region, with a long established record of activism and service specialising in sexual and reproductive rights work, within a broad human rights perspective. The FPATT provides medical science based services such as cancer screenings, contraceptives for women and HIV tests, including to remote areas of Trinidad and Tobago, with its mobile services unit, the first in the country. It advocates for gender equality, LGBT rights, sex education, the right to health and youth protection and empowerment.

Among The UWI’s 7 Core Values, which provides the foundation for moulding and integrating activities of staff, students and alumni, is Civic Responsibility. This core value underscores The UWI’s role in public service – stimulating personal and social awareness that will promote commitment to service the needs of all our stakeholders in the region.

The UWI congratulates Dean Antoine on her appointment.