Hon. Dr. Gale T. C. Rigobert
Saint Lucia
Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development
Dr. Gale T C Rigobert serves as Minister for Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development in Saint Lucia. She made history by becoming the youngest and first female Leader of the Opposition in Saint Lucia in 2014. Following the success of her party in the 2016 election, she was appointed to her current Minister position. She obtained her first degree in Government with first class honours from the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. In 2007 she received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in International Relations from UWI St. Augustine and is the author of the book, Bridging the Digital Divide? Prospects for Caribbean Development in the New Techno-economic Paradigm. Dr. Rigobert previously lectured at the University of the West Indies, served as member of the Senate, and as an adviser on National Development to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and National Development. Dr. Rigobert is passionate about infusing formal curriculum with gender sensitive learning, with the view to raising a new generation of citizens who have a heightened sense of gender awareness, gender appropriate behaviours and the importance for the healthy co-existence of the genders. Dr. Rigobert is very cognizant of the overarching goal of sustainable development and what that means especially for small islands states (SIDS) such as Saint Lucia. In that regard, Education, Gender Relations and Innovation are intimately interwoven and strategic to the quest to leverage science, technology and critical thinking to devise creative and innovative ways to improve the Saint Lucian economy and the well-being of the people.
SIX DAYS AND COUNTING TO THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL FORUM
The Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Forum is just one week away, and the buzz is building. Over 800 people are now registered to attend the Forum in Lisbon, Portugal, with a stellar ‘who’s who’ list of speakers from the sustainable energy movement, including government ministers, CEOs and development experts working at the ground level to change people’s lives. Join us to learn about the amazing Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) work that’s underway and why faster progress is needed – a point that will be made clear when the new SDG7 progress report is announced on the Forum’s first day. If you’re coming to Lisbon but still haven’t registered, please do so this week!
Rachel Kyte looks forward to the Sustainable Energy for All Forum to be held in Lisbon, Portugal from May 2 – 3, 2018. For more details on the Forum available here >>.
MAPPING GENDER AND SOCIALLY INCLUSIVE ENERGY SOLUTIONS
Women’s growing role in the SDG7 movement will be a key topic at the SEforALL Forum. To get a better handle on this welcome trend, SEforALL and ENERGIA launched a new interactive website this week that maps the global landscape of groups working on gender and energy in all corners of the world. The Faces of Energy websiteis a project of the People-Centered Accelerator, which SEforALL launched last year.
DANFOSS POLAND AND ENGINEERING TOMORROW
“Energy efficiency is the future of your children’s health. It is the heart of the matter.” So concludes SEforALL CEO Rachel Kyte in her visionary energy efficiency TED-style talk this month at the “Engineering Tomorrow” event hosted by the Danfoss Group in Warsaw, Poland.
Watch here from the 40-minute mark >>
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: SNV
As part of a new series looking at partners in the SEforALL network, we spoke with the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) on our partnership and the role of sustainable energy access in the Sustainable Development Goals. In an interview with Tom Derksen, Energy Managing Director at SNV, we discuss their work on SDG 7, the opportunity of decentralized renewable energy and how energy supports successful development solutions.