Twenty-five trailblazers will be awarded the Generation Equality Awards, to be announced by the Ministry of Gender Affairs.

Principal Director, Culture and Creative Industries Policy Division, Ministry of Gender, Jo-ann Archibald, made the announcement at a special event dubbed, ‘Welcome Home Mary Seacole’, on International Women’s Day (March 8), at the Lecture Hall of the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), in Kingston.

The event was

organised by the IOJ, in collaboration with the Mary Seacole Foundation (MSF)

and the Mary Seacole Trust (MST) – United Kingdom (UK), to celebrate the life

and work of Jamaican nurse, Mary

Seacole.

In attendance were Directors of the MSF as well as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the MST (UK), Trevor Sterling and Lisa Rodrigues, respectively.

Archibald said that the award is in keeping with the 10 critical areas of concern in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a Resolution adopted by the United Nations to promulgate a set of principles concerning the equality of men and women.

Almost 25 years

ago, Jamaica joined 188 countries in adopting the Beijing Declaration and the

Platform for Action to achieve gender equality.

Jamaican women are resilient

“Jamaican women are resilient, creative, hard-working trailblazers, who continue to positively represent Brand Jamaica, here and abroad,” she said, noting that “Jamaica is where she is today, because of the collective contribution of our women and girls.”

She argued that the sharing of programme ideas and the honouring of a significant figure like Mary Seacole is tribute to the common heritage.

“The Minister

is pleased to note that the MST has been working in schools in the United

Kingdom and looks forward to similar efforts through the MSF here in Jamaica,”

she said.