On September 22, Nancy Del Pizzo, Steve Shapiro and Marc Ullman made a presentation to the Small Island Developing States (SIDS DOCK) Island Women Open Network (IWON) at the Commonwealth Joint Offices in New York City. The presentation, which took place at the first meeting of the SIDS DOCK IWON Committee, described the legal services the Firm can provide in support of IWON’s initiative to develop a global, sustainable botanical/herbal supplier market from SIDS DOCK member states.
Among the dignitaries at the presentation were Her Excellency Ms. I. Rhonda King, Ambassador of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines to the United Nations, and His Excellency Mr. Enele Sosene Sopoaga, Prime Minister and Minister for Public Utilities of Tuvalu. The meeting had a particularly emotional edge as representatives showed their immense sorrow and resilience as they took pains to discuss the devastation that occurred in Dominica and Barbuda (SIDS DOCK member states) due to the recent swath of Category 5 hurricanes.
The next day, Nancy, Steve, Marc and Shari Lewis were invited to attend the Third Session of the SIDS DOCK Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters, which was conducted in connection with the U.N. General Assembly meeting. Afterward, the team had lunch with the Secretariat General of SIDS DOCK, Ambassador King and others involved in the Third Session.
SIDS DOCK was launched in 2010 to “bring about the transformation of the SIDS energy sector, which is considered by islands as the most effective and sustainable manner to build resilience to climate change.”
According to SIDS DOCK, the IWON initiative is particularly important “as it pertains to the protection, conservation and sustainable use” of “biodiversity resources.”