May 24, 2024 — The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in partnership with several regional and international partners will host three significant side events at the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS-4), which will be held in Antigua and Barbuda from May 27-30. These events will bring together high-profile leaders and decision-makers to discuss crucial environmental and developmental issues.

Event 1: Enhancing Caribbean Development Using Data, Geospatial Information, and Environmental Monitoring: Building a Regional Environmental Information Ecosystem (REIS)

SideEvent ID#43
​Date: May 28, 2024
​Time: 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. (AST local time Antigua and Barbuda)
​Location: American University of Antigua, Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, Room 7 (SIDS-4 Conference Venue)

This event will highlight the pivotal role of digital technologies, authoritative data, and geospatial information in advancing environmental and developmental initiatives across the Caribbean. It will explore the operational framework and collaborative mechanisms of the Regional Environmental Information ecoSystem (REIS), aiming to enhance data management, environmental monitoring, assessment, and informed policy and decision-making.

The event is organised by the OECS in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The University of the West Indies (UWI), United Nations Environment Programme – Cartagena Convention Secretariat (UNEP-CEP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) Americas through The Caribbean Geospatial Development Initiative (CARIGEO).

Event 2: Climate Change and Environmental Legislation in Support of the Delivery of the New Programme of Action for SIDS

Side Event ID#143
​Date: May 29, 2024
​Time: 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
​Location: Antigua and Barbuda

High-profile Caribbean leaders, including the Premier of the British Virgin Islands, will explore how innovative laws can boost climate finance in Caribbean SIDS. The event is convened by the Parliamentary Observatory on Climate Change and Just Transition (OPCC). The OPCC is a network of Latin American and Caribbean parliamentarians and governmental technical officers that aims to bolster the region’s environmental and climate change legislation. This event will promote cooperation among parliamentarians to achieve sustainable, low-carbon economies and enhanced resilience. 

For more information on the OPCC, please visit OPCC Website.

Event 3: The Path Forward in the Operationalization of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI)

Side Event ID#101
​Date: May 29, 2024
​Time: 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. (AST local time Antigua and Barbuda)
​Location: Antigua and Barbuda

This side event will discuss the operationalisation of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) as called for by UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/78/232. The event will feature a panel discussion with the OECS Director General, Dr. Didacus Jules, senior officials academics, and development finance experts. Topics will include how multidimensional vulnerability can be reflected in debt sustainability and development support practices, the potential uses and application of the MVI, and the complementarities between the Bridgetown Initiative, the SDG Stimulus, and the MVI in the context of broader international financial architecture reform.

This event is hosted by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, (UNDESA)

Journalists attending this conference are invited to cover these events. Accredited media representatives will have the opportunity to engage in Q&A sessions and conduct bilateral interviews with speakers. For media accreditation and more information on participating in the SIDS-4 Conference, please visit SIDS-4 Conference Website.

The United Nations stated, “At this time of great peril, opportunity must be seized. In Antigua and Barbuda in May 2024, the international community will gather to review SIDS’ sustainable development progress and propose a new decade of partnerships and solutions to supercharge their path to resilient prosperity.”

The 2024 SIDS-4 conference will gather country representatives, civil society, academia, and other major non-governmental stakeholders. The conference aims to address challenges, revitalize SIDS economies, strengthen human capital, harness innovative data and digital technologies, and bolster sustainable development in SIDS.