The College of the West Indies (The UWI) World Campus (previously Open Campus) congratulates Honourable Ambassador Dr June Soomer on being appointed Chair Designate of the Everlasting Discussion board on Individuals of African Descent (PFPAD). Her appointment took impact on January 1, 2024.
Ambassador Soomer is a proud UWI alumna and presently serves as Chair of The UWI World Campus Council. She is amongst 5 (5) individuals elected by the United Nations Basic Meeting (UNGA) and certainly one of two CARICOM representatives on the PFPAD. Ms Gaynael Curry from The Bahamas is the opposite consultant. The outgoing Chair is Dr Epsy Campbell Barr, former Vice-President of Costa Rica.
Ambassador Soomer acquired her PhD in Historical past from The UWI in 1994 and was the primary feminine to graduate with a doctorate on this self-discipline on the Cave Hill Campus. As an completed creator and historian, she served within the diplomatic, monetary and academic fields regionally and internationally. She additionally has over 40 years of educational {and professional} expertise in administration, operational and technical areas; has developed a stable understanding of latest improvement points; and continues to advocate for equality and fairness in sustainable improvement, notably within the Caribbean Area.
Since 2008, Ambassador Soomer has served on a number of nationwide and regional committees. She was the primary girl to function Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to the Organisation of Jap Caribbean States (OECS) and CARICOM with accountability for Diaspora Affairs, a place she held from 2008-2016. She additionally served as an OECS Commissioner and was the primary feminine Secretary Basic of the Affiliation of Caribbean States (ACS) from 2016-2020. She was Head of the Maritime Boundaries Delimitation Crew for Saint Lucia with Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines and a Member of the Nationwide Working Group on Free Circulation of Items within the OECS.
Through the years, she has acquired quite a few awards for her work throughout the Area. In July 2018, she was awarded The UWI Alumni Affiliation Pelican Award for excellence in diplomacy, public service and the promotion of regionalism, representing the 1989-1998 decade of the college with distinction. In October of that yr, she was additionally recognised for excellent management by the Cave Hill Campus on the 70th Anniversary of The UWI. In 2021 she acquired Saint Lucia’s highest nationwide award, the Saint Lucia Cross, for her distinguished work within the fields of schooling, diplomacy, regionalism and improvement specialty and the Order “José de Marcoleta” within the Diploma of Grand Cross, from the Republic of Nicaragua.
The Everlasting Discussion board for the Individuals of African Descent was launched in 2021 by the United Nations Basic Meeting (UNGA), as a consultative mechanism for individuals of African descent and different related stakeholders to enhance the protection and high quality of life and livelihoods of individuals of African descent. The Everlasting Discussion board additionally serves as an advisory physique to the Human Rights Council, according to the programme of actions for the implementation of the Worldwide Decade for Individuals of African Descent 2015 – 2024.
The mandate of the Everlasting Discussion board on Individuals of African Descent consists of contributing to the total political, financial and social inclusion of individuals of African descent by its modalities, codecs, and substantive and procedural features.
Professional Vice-Chancellor & Principal, The UWI World Campus, Dr Francis O. Severin is delighted by this information. He displays, “These excellent and distinguished appointments of Dr June Soomer on the helm of well-respected Regional and Worldwide our bodies are irrevocable proofs of her standing and profile within the eyes of her friends.” He continues, “The foregoing has not in any approach altered the individual she is, that’s, nice, down-to-earth, genuine, and calmly assured. We’re happy with and honoured to have her as our Campus Council Chair and the truth that she is a UWI alumna, gladdens our hearts tremendously. “The World Campus Senior Administration Crew congratulates Honourable Ambassador Dr June Soomer and needs her success on this new function.
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