Innovative ARDYIS 2.0 Web Training & Exchange Workshop in Beautiful Barbados !!!

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Hello World!! Imarah Radix  here !! Welcome to my blog !! I am happy you are here sister!! .As of late I have wanted to start a blog to record the colourful details of my experiences and travels in all their glory on this amazing planet. We are at the amazingly beautiful UWI Cavehill Campus in Barbados on an extraordinary journey learning how to use ICT in an agricultural context to improve the state of our communities and ultimately our world.

I came across the opportunity on facebook applied and now I am representing Guyana as a fully sponsored participant!! I am surrounded by 22 amazingly talented young people all bringing diverse experiences from their island nations and skills to the table for this workshop.  They are an exceptional bunch!!

Some of the highlights of the workshop on the first day for me was posting reflections/feedback and suggestions to the "Democracy Boards" in between sessions on RSS feeds,blog creation and Google searching and  mapping. Its really started us all thinking about the differences between blog platforms through comparison and nuances of blogging for different audiences. Its one of the hardest things to think about how one will project oneself through written online media its a whole new world for me to start a blog !

The purpose of this blog is to engender discussion on women's challenges ,projects ,experiences and triumphs in the agricultural sector.These are the things that I care about because there is so much potential for women's economic empowerment through agriculture to start small businesses and become financially stable.

Two participants shared their innovative business models with the group the first business has been established by a Trinidadian young woman and is entitled "GO GOAT" which produces ice cream,yoghurt and cheese to her local network /community in Trinidad. Another colleague from Antigua is combining tourism and agriculture to provide a hybrid experience of farming with a scenic nature trail that tourists can visit while they are on vacation and in country residents can also visit year round. This experience will allow him to raise awareness of what he is doing to advance agriculture ultimately improving his community in Antigua. #SuperHERO

The most exciting part is in the application of what we have learned ,what we will create afterwards when we go back to our respective countries and how we will collaborate now and in the future on ground breaking agricultural projects and related research. Going into day 2 we will be given the freedom to begin molding our own blogs #EXCITED .Today we get to the meat of the matter  and it is a wonderful feeling to be learn a new skill and be truly inspired by others and I am continually filled with hope for regional development on days like this!

I feel privileged to  be standing at the forefront of the Ardyis Project. A regional movement to encourage youth to become drivers of agricultural development nationally,regionally and internationally. Just by sitting and talking with the other participants I am infused with passion for the future! I know we can achieve great things not just on our own but collectively as a group. This is a working example of regional integration at its best and what better meeting place than UWI Cavehill !!!

The Facilitators have been excellent and inspiring and as the sessions progress I have been listening and  looking around absorbing  the change in  mood of group as we are all opening our minds to how we can effectively use the communication and social media tools at our disposal to chart new territory. This workshop is teaching us how we can leverage ICT in our respective fields to improve the state of the world through agriculture.

This blog is a call to action for women and girls to share their work.skills,triumphs,projects and stories of their experiences in the Caribbean .Because Caribbean women are doing great things in agriculture and we can change the Caribbean and the world breaking stereotypes and glass ceilings .I am here you are with me ! Amazing things are in store ! Take this journey with me !! Follow me and stay tuned Sisters!!