Our Capacity Building Webinars are designed to strengthen the knowledge, skills and confidence of advocates, NGOs, youth leaders and community stakeholders working to prevent and address non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in St. Kitts and Nevis and across the Caribbean. These sessions focus on practical, evidence-informed approaches to NCD advocacy, including policy action, strategic communication, partnership-building and community engagement. Through expert presentations, regional perspectives and interactive discussion, our webinars aim to equip participants with the tools they need to drive effective, sustainable change for healthier communities..
Applying Behaviour Change Principles to Health Promotion and NCD Advocacy
Our guest speaker Dr. Dadirai Fundira, Consultant at the World Bank, guided participants through key behaviour change principles and how they can be applied in real-world health promotion and NCD advocacy.
Attendees explored different behaviour change models and learnt how to design effective health campaigns, apply these strategies to policy advocacy, and reflect on the ethical considerations involved in influencing behaviour.
This session was organised as part of our capacity-building series through our SKN NCD Alliance initiative and also as part of our collaboration with St. George’s University’s practicum programme with support from the GHAI. We were delighted to have two of their students assisting us with organising this event as part of their practicum.
An Introduction to NCDs and NCD Policies for Non-Medical Advocates
Designed especially for non-medical advocates, community members, NGO professionals, students, and anyone passionate about supporting better health outcomes, participants were provided with:
- A clearer understanding of what NCDs are and why they matter
- An exploration of how policies and advocacy shape prevention and care
- Practical examples of how non-medical professionals can support NCD work in their communities.
Speakers included:
- Kerry Mitchell, PhD, Associate Professor and the Chair of the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, St George’s University
- Renee Thomas, MPH, Instructor, Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, St George’s University,
- Paula Jankowski, DMD 2 and Sarah Greenberg, DMD 4, the University of Pennsylvania Dental School.
Introduction to Mental Health and Wellbeing for Journalists
Developing Your NGO's Brand Identity
This webinar, “Developing Your NGO’s Brand Identity,” was organised in partnership with the Healthy Caribbean Coalition and featured guest speakers from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Let’s Unpack It, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Antigua and Barbuda. Throughout this engaging session, our experts delved into crucial topics aimed at helping NGOs and CSOs establish a robust brand presence and effectively communicate their mission. From an Introduction to Branding to strategies for developing your NGO’s brand and crafting compelling narratives, we covered essential aspects to empower organizations.
Effectively Reaching Your Target Audience
On the 11th May, we held the second session in our NGO Branding and Marketing series which was co-hosted with the Healthy Caribbean Coalition. We heard from speakers from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Healthy Caribbean Coalition, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society, and Lake Health and Wellbeing.
Our speakers covered essential topics to help non-profit organisations effectively connect with their audience:
- Social media & digital marketing strategies
- Digital advocacy for maximum impact
- Building strong media relationships
- Real-world case studies
Advancing Health Policies: Conversations with Community Groups
There is a need for health policies to be implemented to advance the work around the management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) affecting the Caribbean. Too often, the lack of health policies undermines the impact of the work completed by health-focused community groups. This webinar examined the importance of governments implementing evidence-based health policies and the role of NGOs in supporting the development and implementation of these policies. It also explored other options for advocacy such as grassroots advocacy in local communities and highlighted the challenges and opportunities that community groups can lean into to strengthen their work around NCDs.
Speakers included:
- K. Morrish Cooke, Jamaica Heart Foundation, Communications Officer, Global Health Advocacy Project
- Dr Kenneth Connell, Vice President, Healthy Caribbean Coalition
- Simone J. Burton, CEO of the Bermuda Heart Foundation and Founder of CORE Heart Health Center
Developing a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
This webinar explored how to develop a monitoring and evaluation plan including goal setting and developing a conceptual framework and methodology.
Speaker: Dr Shelly Trim, Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist
Project Management for Non-Profits
This webinar provided an introduction to project management for those working in the non-profit sector.
Speaker: Novia McKay PMP, MA CSBC, Project Management Coach & Change Management Practitioner
Grant Writing
This informative and engaging webinar focused on securing grant funding. This session explored the entire grant proposal process and included guidance on planning, writing and submitting a grant application.
Our guest speaker was Elisabeth Atherly, Evaluator, Minnesota Department of Health
Developing and Implementing an Effective Fundraising Strategy
One of the biggest challenges that non-profits in the Caribbean face is limited resources to fulfil their aims and objectives. To address this challenge, we hosted this webinar to explore how organisations can develop an effective fundraising strategy that facilitates the generation of sustainable income.
Emily Legg, Director of Fundraising at Myeloma UK, provided guidance on how to develop and implement an effective fundraising strategy and explored sustainability, monitoring and evaluating fundraising efforts and more.
Strengthening Civil Society's Role in Health Advocacy
On 25th February 2022, we hosted an online workshop that aimed to provide civil society organisations with guidance on how to develop and implement successful health-related advocacy campaigns.
This first session featured the following speakers and presentations:
- Rachel Morrison, Jamaica and Barbados Coordinator, Global Health Advocacy Incubator – An Introduction to Health Policy Advocacy and the Role of Civil Society
- Francine Charles, Programme Manager, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados – Developing an Effective Advocacy Campaign
- Danielle Walwyn, Advocacy Officer, Healthy Caribbean Coalition – Stakeholder Engagement and Mapping
- Jill Greenberg, Digital Media Consultant, Global Health Advocacy Incubator – Using Digital and Traditional Media As Advocacy Tools
Strengthening Civil Society's Role in Health Advocacy: Part 2
During this workshop, attendees learnt about the role and importance of civil society in the movement to advocate for evidence-based health policies and interventions to improve the public’s health and wellbeing. We explored how to plan, develop and monitor an advocacy campaign and explored important advocacy strategies such as digital advocacy, the use of traditional media and stakeholder engagement. We also explored the successes of advocates from across the world using sugar-sweetened beverages as a case study. This recording is of session 2 of our workshop and speakers included:
- Dr Shelly Trim, Development Coordination Officer, Data Management & Results Monitoring/Reporting, Office of the UN Resident Coordinator
- Maisha Hutton, Executive Director, Healthy Caribbean Coalition
- Shirley Ewang, Advocacy & External Engagement Specialist, Gatefield Impact
- Dr Marissa Carty, NCD Coordinator, St. Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Health
Animating the Message: The Use of Animation in Public Health Advocacy
Digital advocacy is an essential aspect of advocating for the changes and policies required to improve the public’s health. In this webinar, we explore animation as a digital advocacy tool and discuss practical uses of animation, the impact animation has had on non-communicable disease advocacy campaigns in the Caribbean, the process of developing an animation for digital advocacy and the pros and cons of animating public health messages.
Speakers included:
- Jill Greenberg, Digital Media Consultant, Global Health Advocacy Incubator
- Damien Pinder, CEO and Co-Founder, Nu Visual Media
- Tamara Marie, Communications Consultant, St Lucia Cancer Society
- Abi Begho, Programme Director, Lake Health and Wellbeing
Registering Your NGO With the Financial Services Regulatory Commission
Our NGO Registration capacity-building webinar featured guest speaker, Ms. Renee Gumbs, Registrar of Companies at the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC).
During this session, Ms Gumbs provided valuable insights and guidance on the registration process, necessary documentation, and post-registration obligations for NGOs.
This session offered practical advice for navigating the regulatory landscape with confidence and contributed to our efforts to community-based organisations.