Call for Nominations: Trinidad & Tobago Spotlight Initiative: Civil Society National Reference Group (CS-NRG)

The Spotlight Initiative is a global, multi-year partnership to eliminate all forms of violence against women (VAW) and girls by 2030. It represents an unprecedented global effort to invest in gender equality and women’s empowerment as a precondition and driver for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. You can find out more about the Spotlight Initiative at https://spotlightinitiative.org. There has been a growing momentum to eliminate and prevent all forms of Violence Against Women (VAW) in the region and the country. Trinidad and Tobago has demonstrated its commitments to address VAW adopting domestic violence legislation at national level. Therefore, in preparation of the implementation, the European Union Delegation of Trinidad and Tobago and the United Nations invites nominations from suitably qualified applicants for the National Civil Society Reference Group (CSRG), a pro bono Advisory Board to the new EU/UN Spotlight Initiative on Gender based violence that is scheduled to start in 2020.

Please submit all applications by December 6, 2019 before 4 pm and click here to download the Terms of Reference.

Nomination criteria and process       

Nominations of individuals for the Spotlight Initiative Civil Society – National Reference Group (CS-NRG) will be sought against the criteria below.

• The proposed individual should have a minimum of 2 years’ work experience in the non-governmental sector working with one or multiple organizations registered under the companies Act 1995 or Act of Parliament as a Non-profit Company and Articles of Incorporation or the Trades Unions Act.

• The proposed individual should have a proven track record of representing or working with women and girls and groups facing intersecting forms of discrimination (rural, those living with HIV/AIDS, women and girls living with disabilities, LGBTQI persons, etc.)

• Nominations will be sought in the sub-categories of:
• Youth
• Gender Violence
• Child Abuse
• Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
• Gender and Development

Each nomination will need to be submitted with one short paragraph to outline the candidate’s experience and explain why the proposed individual is a suitable candidate. Self-nominations are not permitted.

Selection process

In line with the criteria outlined above a long list of nominated Individuals will be put together to allow for further selection. A selection Committee consisting of Government, EU and UN Agencies will review the long-list of candidates and select the most qualified 10-12 candidates as permanent members of the Spotlight Initiative CS-NRG in Trinidad and Tobago.

In the selection process, the committee will adhere to the following composition principles for the CS-NRG:

• It is recommended to form a group of maximum 10-12 individuals;
• National geographic balance and adherence to the leave no one behind principle must be ensured so that all women and girls, including those facing intersecting forms of discrimination, are represented so that community-based, local and grassroots CSOs working on EVAWG in particular are well-represented
• It is recommended that at least 50% of the CS-NRGs members represent the autonomous women’s rights movement. The CS-NRGs should also include representatives of youth networks, as well as SRHR activists, leaders of indigenous groups, LGBTI leaders, advocates and leaders of marginalized groups, representatives of disabilities´ rights groups, local/grassroots organizations labour/trade unions and others.
• All members included in the CS-NRGs should have expertise on EVAWG
• It is recommended to include representatives from important constituencies such as progressive faith-based groups and men and boys’ organizations working on EVAWG. Progressive, in this case, describes persons who are advocates for social change.
• CS-NRGs members join the group in their individual capacity and not as representatives of their organizations. The appointment could be for a fixed period of time of one year, on a renewable basis.