Jeremy Collymore Receives CDEMA Council Award

Bridgetown, Barbados, December 10, 2015 (CDEMA) – Jeremy MacArthur Collymore received the highest award of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) at the Closing Ceremony, Awards & Gala Dinner of the 9th Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management held on Thursday, December 3, 2015, at Melia Nassau Beach Resort.

The CDEMA Council Award was bestowed upon Mr. Collymore for his dedication and commitment to the advancement of Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) throughout the region and globally.

The presentation was a significant part of the official launch of the CDEMA Awards Programme, aimed at honouring individuals for their outstanding contributions to disaster management in the region. The Honorable Adriel Brathwaite, Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Barbados and Chairman of the CDEMA Council of Ministers presented the award to Mr. Collymore.

Mr. Collymore, currently an Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of Sustainable Development, University of the West Indies, said he was humbled by the recognition and acknowledged that, “Any achievement I made was based on the support of my staff, regional and international partners and communities and institutions that shared my vision for strengthened Disaster Risk Management systems.”

He pledged to continue contributing as CDEMA 18 Participating Stateskeep travelling on “The Road to Resilience”

“My work in Disaster Risk Management (DRM) has always been driven by commitment to the improvement of preparedness planning for the hazards we face, a better understanding of them and the development of systems and capacity to manage these. Whilst we have made significant improvement in preparedness, there is still much work to be done on this and the risk management side,” he said.

With over 30 years of continuous contribution to the evolution of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) in the Caribbean region, he has been a tireless advocate, visionary and activist for cross-cutting issues related to the promotion of a culture of safety and community resilience, especially with respect to climate variability, change and adaptation in CDEMA Participating States. During his tenure as Executive Director of CDEMA, Mr. Collymore not only spearheaded the evolution of response and relief-based outlook to the prevailing CDM platform, but, was also, the visionary behind the transition from CDERA to CDEMA. He oversaw the initiation of the CDM Strategy Framework in Participating States and in key sectors such as agriculture and tourism, as well as the process to strengthen the capacities of disaster risk management institutions, to implement the region’s DRM agenda.

The CDEMA Council Award is the highest award of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. It is awarded to individuals in recognition and honour of significant long-term efforts and contributions, which have clearly influenced the advancement of Comprehensive Disaster Management in the CDEMA member states.

The inaugural Award was sponsored by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) through the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (CDRRF), which is financed by the Canada Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).