The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport is inviting nominations for the Jamaica 60 Prime Minister’s Diamond Jubilee Awards, celebrating 60 Women of Excellence in the following categories:

1. Successful Elimination of Poverty among Jamaican Women

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Conducted groundbreaking research on hazards that pose a growing threat to the health and wellbeing of women.
• Led programmes or projects that provided education on maternal health in poor communities across Jamaica
• Aided in ensuring that all Jamaicans, in particular, poor and vulnerable women, have equal access to ownership of land and other forms of property.
• Enabled women to sustainably use natural resources towards the development of Jamaica.
• Enabled communities/individuals to reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and environmental disasters.
• Aided in the development of Jamaica’s social protection framework. 
• Successfully led lobbying efforts for poor and vulnerable women.
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

2. Provision of Quality Education and Training for Jamaican Women

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Enabled health and nutritional information to form an integral part of school curricula.
• Utilized the media to promote norms and practices that eliminate discrimination against women and girls.
• Enabled women to acquire knowledge on their health, sexuality, and reproduction.
• Enabled children to acquire knowledge on their right to access information, privacy, confidentiality, respect and informed consent.
• Improved women’s access to free or low-cost legal services. 
• Implemented successful programmes or projects that re-integrated adolescent mothers in the education sector. 
• Provided targeted educational opportunities to women living with disabilities, and women in rural and indigenous communities in Jamaica. 
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

3. Securing the Good Health and Well-being of Jamaican Women

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Enabled health service systems and operations to provide targeted services to women and girls.  
• Provided years of service in the delivery of targeted healthcare services to women and girls. 
• Strengthened women’s right to informed decisions about their health.
• Conducted research on any aspect of women’s health. 
• Developed and implemented development oriented solutions for women to access community-based health services. 
• Strengthened the delivery of mental health services to women.
• Led successful behavioural change campaigns that prompt women to acquire positive health seeking practices. 
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

4. Prevention of Violence Against Women in Jamaica

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Developed/implemented policies and programmes that contributed to the elimination of violence among women and girls.
• Strengthened access to counselling services, especially for young girls who are more vulnerable to issues such as sexual and physical abuse.
• Led successful media campaigns that educated the public on violence against women and girls in varying forms. 
• Conducted research that provided insights on the effects of domestic violence. 
• Strengthened GBV Responses in local law enforcement. 
• Enhanced the GBV Monitoring and Evaluation Systems. 
• Provided access to legal representation for victims/survivors of domestic violence, particularly, poor women and girls. 
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

5. Phenomenal Accomplishment in Public Service

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Stellar service that aimed to maintain social order in times of crisis. 
• Led successful projects/programmes that strengthened Jamaica’s human capital, particularly public service.  
• Strengthened the capacity of court officials to handle cases with a gender perspective.
• Conducted research on working conditions in Jamaica’s public service. 
• Led successful projects/programmes that enabled gender parity in Jamaican public service. 
• Developed interventions that provided efficiency in public service. 
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

6. Impeccable Service in the Security Sector

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Successfully built the capacity of the security sector to respond to the specific security needs of men vs. women.
• Led successful projects/ programmes geared towards community safety and security. 
• Led project/programmes that aided in the positive image of women in local law enforcement. 
• Led lobbying efforts to enhance working conditions of the security sector.
• Offered impeccable service to local law enforcement. 
• Developed tools for the monitoring and evaluation of the local security sector. 
• Led successful campaigns towards the elimination of forced labour and human trafficking.
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

7. Phenomenal Accomplishment in the Cultural and Creative Sector

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Conducted research that strengthened Jamaica’s creative sector. 
• Developed and implemented tools to monitor the impacts of the creative industries on sustainable development. 
• Aided in the development of successful talents in the local creative sector. 
• Spearheaded projects that produced successful entrepreneurs in the local creative sector. 
• Strengthened intellectual property development in the local creative sector.
• Successful career in the local creative sector that reflects model work ethics and content. 
• Created content geared towards the continuity of any field of the creative sector. 
• Inspirational conduct in the field of service.

8. Phenomenal Accomplishment in Sports

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Led projects/programmes that enabled women’s equal access to opportunities in sports. 
• Strengthened the mechanisms to evaluate the contribution of women in sports for positive national development. 
• Aided in the development of sports and physical fitness programmes for young women in Jamaica. 
• Aided in the development of successful sporting careers among local Jamaicans. 
• Provided critical resources and opportunities to junior athletes. 
• Conducted research on women-centered needs in the local sports industry. 
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

9. Continuous and Stellar Service in the Retention of African Cultural Practices

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Conducted research on the role of women in the retention of African cultural practices in religion and other spaces in Jamaica. 
• Planned and executed successful cultural events that promoted the value of African indigenous knowledge forms.  
• Designed/executed projects/programmes/curricula that taught young Jamaicans subject matters relating to African history and culture.  
• Led successful campaigns that promoted the value of African cultural practices to the contemporary Jamaican identity. 
• Strengthened the capacity of cultural groups in Jamaica. 
• Done extensive work that resulted in the documentation and understanding of African cultural practices, locally.  
• Created strong and sustainable partnerships between African states and Jamaica. 
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

10. Safeguarding Women’s Full Participation in Jamaica’s Economic Life

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Provided annual breakdown of the country’s budget to ensure that it is appropriately supportive of sectors critical to the development of women and girls. 
• Coordinated or led efforts to protect workers’ rights and the Decent Work Agenda in Jamaica.
• Led successful media campaigns on the issue of gender parity in leadership in Jamaican life. 
• Provided material, financial and logistical assistance to youth and nongovernmental organizations to access decision making. 
• Designed policies and programmes that enhanced parity in the agriculture sector. 
• Led projects/programmes that built the capacity of women and girls to fully participate in economic life. 
• Conducted research on gender inequality in the economic life of Jamaica. 
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

11. Strengthening Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women in Jamaica

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Led projects/programmes that resulted in women being both active agents and beneficiaries of the development process.
• Conducted research on the institutional mechanisms to advance the needs of women and girls. 
• Represented Jamaica on regional and international treaties and conventions that assess Jamaica’s compliance with international instruments for women/human rights. 
• Strengthened the capacity of women’s community groups. 
• Led an organization in Jamaica that is concerned with developing women and girls. 
• Utilized presence in media to build awareness on instruments that provide greater protection to women. 
• Strengthened country-level coordination to provide critical services to women and girls. 
• Inspirational conduct in field of service. 

12. Protecting the Human Rights of Jamaican Women

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Mobilised resources to enhance women’s human rights. 
• Represented Jamaica on regional and international treaties and conventions that assess Jamaica’s compliance with international instruments for women/human rights. 
• Enhanced the access of disadvantaged women to economic resources and social services, especially women with special needs and indigenous and rural women.
• Successfully enabled women to benefit from ongoing acquisition of knowledge.
• Contributed to the removal of any legal, regulatory and social barriers against women and girls.
• Conducted successful campaigns to promote the rights of women and girls.
• Implemented projects and programmes that promote women’s human rights.
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

13. Promotion of Conservation and Biodiversity in Vulnerable and Rural Communities

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Contributed to the building of a framework for sustainable tourism.
• Spearheaded projects that achieved improved community-level education, attitudes, and human and institutional capacity on biodiversity, ecosystems and climate change.
• Conducted research on biodiversity and climate change or disaster management. 
• Spearheaded successful conservation, restoration and sustainable practices. 
• Spearheaded campaigns to protect and prevent the extinction of threatened plants and animals.
• Led successful advocacy that centers the environment into national and local planning. 
• Spearheaded campaigns to strengthen gender equality in the agriculture and fisheries sector. 
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

14. Empowerment of the Jamaican Girl Child

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Actively aided in Jamaican girls developing confidence, integrity, and leadership skills.  
• Led projects/programmes that provided human capital development to adolescent mothers.  
• Provided service in crafting and strengthening policies and other interventions that contribute to gender equality and the empowerment of girls at all levels of Jamaican life. 
• Spearheaded community-level projects and programmes that educate girls on becoming model Jamaican citizens. 
• Provided stellar and constant leadership to any organisation that develops the girl child in Jamaica. 
• Successfully raised national-level consciousness on the gender-specific needs of girls in Jamaica’s development. 
• Conducted research in the area of girls developing to participate in Jamaican life.
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

15. Showcasing Positive Representations of Women in Media 

Nominees must have committed more than ten years of service in two or more of the following:

• Utilised media presence to positively represent Jamaican women and girls. 
• Led successful media campaign on gender equality in local media.
• Produced/authored work that positively reflected women’s representation in local media. 
• Utilized social media to promote women’s development issues. 
• Conducted research on how Jamaican women and girls are represented in local media. 
• Produced content for digital media that promotes women’s equality in Jamaican life. 
• Led projects or programmes that sensitise stakeholders in the media on gender equality in journalism.
• Inspirational conduct in field of service.

Click here to download nomination form!