Dr. Margaret Jones Williams, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP, Suriname, delivered the 2020 Grace Kennedy Foundation Lecture on Wednesday October 30, 2020 entitled "The Decade of Action Begins: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Leaving No One Behind". The lecture exploredthe adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the progress to date and the global challenges such as COVID-19, climate change and natural disasters that have already eroded the development gains. Dr. Jones Williams focused on the Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean region, which despite middle-income status and moderate to high human development indices, still experience relatively poor economic growth, high adverse impacts from natural disasters, rising crime and gender-inequity. Dr. Jones Williams holds a Masters degree in Coastal Zone Management/Zoology and a BSc. with a major in marine biology and a minor in chemistry from The UWI, Mona and a PhD in Environmental Management with a focus on Biological Oceanography from the University of Southampton. She also taught in the Department of Life Sciences. She was introduced at the lecture by Prof. Mona Webber, also from the Faculty, and one of the 2019 lecturers.
The Grace Kennedy Foundation lecture series began in 1989 and has been staged annually since. This year’s lecture was presented in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which is the lead UN agency on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To watch a replay of the event: https://youtu.be/RBIIuEqfMxE
To download a copy of the lecture book (available as of Monday, October 5, 2020): https://www.gracekennedy.com/gk-foundations/how-we-care/public-lecture-series/
To learn more about the Grace Kennedy Foundation lectures: https://www.gracekennedy.com/gk-foundations/how-we-care/public-lecture-series/
To learn more about the outstanding Dr. Jones Williams: www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/dr-margaret-jones-williams-top-environmental-specialist-flying-j-can-flag-at-undp-suriname_182326?profile=1373
Published on 01 Oct, 2020
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