Caribbean Women Catalysts for Change (CWCC) was conceptualized in 1993/1994. This research project is divided into three main phases:
Caribbean Women Catalysts for Change Lecture Series
The lecture series was inaugurated in 1995 by Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica, and in 1996 was dedicated to honouring the memory of Dame Nita Barrow, Governor General of Barbados, 1990-1995. The lecture series is now in its nineteenth year. Several of the lectures have been published in the Working Paper Series.
Research on Outstanding Caribbean Women
This is an ongoing body of research which has to date documented and analysed the regional and international contributions of outstanding Caribbean women in social development and in politics. The first major output of this project has been the book,
Stronger, Surer, Bolder: Ruth Nita Barrow Social Change and International Development edited by Professors Eudine Barriteau, and Alan Cobley which was published in 2001.
Phase Two began in December 2001 with research on the public life of Dame Eugenia Charles on the theme, Women, Power and Politics in the Caribbean. The second major output of this path-breaking project is the publication of the book
Enjoying Power: Eugenia Charles and Political Leadership in the Commonwealth Caribbean edited by Professors Eudine Barriteau and Alan.
In 2008, work commenced on the third book project in which The Honourable Justice Bernard, Judge in the Caribbean Court of Justice, is the subject of the research.
The Nita Barrow Specialist Collection
Another successful output of the project has been
the opening of the Dame Nita Barrow Women and Development Specialist Collection which was opened in February 2005 as a dedicated specialist collection within in the main library, UWI, Cave Hill. This has been a collaborative project between IGDS and colleagues in the Main Library. The Dame Eugenia papers are being documented by the Campus Archivist and will be incorporated into the Dame Nita Barrow Specialist Collection.
The IGDS: NBU has identified three thematic areas for projects and outreach in the Caribbean: Changing Gender Relations in the 21st Century, Gender & Sexuality and Gender-Based Violence. Currently, there are three main research projects which seek to address the themes previously identified.