Pamela McNeil Lecture Nov. 17

The fourth staging of the Pamela McNeil Lecture, hosted by the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF), will continue to focus on Adolescent Pregnancy.

The virtual event, which is scheduled for Thursday, November 17, will be streamed live on the WCJF’s YouTube and Facebook pages, starting at 2:00 p.m.

This year’s spotlight will be on ‘The Impact of the Pandemic on the rate of Adolescent Pregnancy in Jamaica: Separating Fact from Fiction’.

Executive Director of the WCJF, Dr. Zoe Simpson, told JIS News that this annual lecture is named in honour of the first national Director for the Centre, Pamela McNeil, who made a sterling contribution to the lives of the adolescent mothers in Jamaica.

“She directed this innovative programme that seeks to redeem the lives of these individuals and give them a second chance to complete their secondary education,” Dr. Simpson said.

The main presenter at the lecture will be former Head of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Dr. Lilieth Dunn, who now lives in Botswana.

“We are happy to have her deliver this lecture, because the work of the Women’s Centre, Dr. Dunn holds it dear to her heart,” Dr. Simpson said.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon Olivia Grange; State Minister in the Ministry, Hon. Alando Terrelonge; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Denzil Thorpe; Chairman of the Board of Directors, WCFJ, Debbie-Ann Brown Salmon and Head of the Institute of Gender and Development Studies, UWI, Dr. Karen Carpenter, will also participate in the lecture.

According to Dr. Simpson, the adolescent population is pivotal to national development, so while the Women’s Centre focuses its attention on remediation, it also wants to focus on prevention, “how we help our youngsters to respond positively as it relates to their sexual and reproductive health matters”.

“We want this lecture to bring public minds together, so we are inviting everyone to be part of the conversation as we respond to the issues surrounding adolescent pregnancy in Jamaica,” Dr. Simpson said.

To register in advance for the lecture, interested persons may visit https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_s-2q5JEUTOSsQ65k_CWqFg, and for further information they can call 876-517-1148-9.