Bridgetown, Barbados, (CDEMA) – Jeremy MacArthur Collymore received the highest award of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) at the Closing Ceremony, Awards and Gala Dinner of the 9th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management held on Thursday, December 3, 2015, at Melia Nassau Beach Resort, The Bahamas.
The CDEMA Council Award was bestowed upon Mr. Collymore for his dedication and commitment to the advancement of Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) throughout the region and globally.
The presentation was a significant part of the official launch of the CDEMA Awards Programme, aimed at honouring individuals for their outstanding contributions to disaster management in the region. The Honorable Adriel Brathwaite, Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Barbados and Chairman of the CDEMA Council of Ministers presented the award to Mr. Collymore.
Mr. Collymore, currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of Sustainable Development, University of the West Indies, said he was humbled by the recognition and acknowledged that, “any achievement I made was based on the support of my staff, regional and international partners and communities and institutions that shared my vision for strengthened Disaster Risk Management systems.”
He pledged to continue contributing as CDEMA 18 Participating Stateskeep travelling on “The Road to Resilience”
My work in Disaster Risk Management (DRM) has always been driven by commitment to the improvement of preparedness planning for the hazards we face, a better understanding of them and the development of systems and capacity to manage these. Whilst we have made significant improvement in preparedness, there is still much work to be done on this and the risk management side,” he said.
With over 30 years of continuous contribution to the evolution of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the Caribbean region, he has been a tireless advocate, visionary and activist for cross-cutting issues related to the promotion of a culture of safety and community resilience, especially with respect to climate variability, change and adaptation in CDEMA Participating States.
During his tenure as Executive Director of CDEMA, Mr. Collymore not only spearheaded the evolution of response and relief-based outlook to the prevailing CDM platform, but, was also, the visionary behind the transition from CDERA to CDEMA. He oversaw the initiation of the CDM Strategy Framework in Participating States and in key sectors such as agriculture and tourism, as well as the process to strengthen the capacities of disaster risk management institutions, to implement the region’s DRM agenda.
The CDEMA Council Award is the highest award of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. It is awarded to individuals in recognition and honour of significant long-term efforts and contributions, which have clearly influenced the advancement of Comprehensive Disaster Management in the CDEMA member states.
The inaugural Award was sponsored by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) through the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (CDRRF), which is financed by the Canada Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), CDB and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The CDEMA Awards Programme was launched at the the 9th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management on Thursday, December 3, 2015 at Melia Nassau Beach Resort. The Awards Programme was endorsed by the CDEMA Council of Ministers at the Sixth Meeting of the Council on June 26, 2015 in Bridgetown, Barbados
Six awards will be considered under the programme and these are:
- The CDEMA Council Award
- CDEMA Executive Director Award
- Jeremy Collymore Award for Research in Disaster Response and Disaster Risk Management.
- CDEMA Outstanding Media Award
- CDEMA Outstanding Private Sector Award
- CDEMA Service Award
The key objectives of the Awards are:
- To recognise the contributions and commitment given over the years to advance and strengthen national and regional level efforts to reduce disaster loss including the impacts of climate change
- To increase awareness of the work of the CDEMA
- To encourage and promote increased awareness of and participation in advancing the CDM agenda(CDEMA Press Release)
