ZiNG Caribbean – May-June 2019

38 | ZiNG CARIBBEAN http://www.liat.com | May - June 2019

LIME

CARIBBEAN

VOICES

TALK ...

People making waves around the Caribbean

Voice of

the people

Dominica-born Patricia Scotland has been

breaking barriers her whole life – and in 2016

she became the fi rst female Commonwealth

Secretary-General. We asked her what that

means,andwhatshehopestoachieve

Q

What does the post

of Commonwealth

Secretary-General entail?

As the chief executive of the

Commonwealth Secretariat, my

job is to work with our experts

and development partners to

turn the visions of our heads

of government into action

and positive change for all

Commonwealth citizens.

Q

What might be a typical

day? Representing 53

countries means that no two days

are the same. Today I might be in

London hosting a conference on

youth employment; tomorrow

I could be in Poland attending a

conference on climate change.

But wherever I am, my aim is the

same: to develop and harness

the talent and resources in the

Commonwealth and turn them

into solutions to some of the

most pressing problems facing

our member countries.

Q

What are the best things

about your role? The

people I meet. I have been so

inspired and I have learned

so much about the amazing

talent and potential in our

Commonwealth. I am convinced

that, with our vast and diverse

human resources, our biggest

obstacles are easily overcome.

This really gives me hope for a

Commonwealth with

a bright future.

Q

And what are the worst?

Seeing human suffering

• though it spurs me on to do
  more and to focus on concrete
  outcomes for the 2.4 billion
  people I serve.

Q

Your career has been full of

‘fi rsts’. What gave you the

drive to succeed?

In my life, I have encountered a

number of crossroads. As a young

black girl growing up in Britain

in the 1960s and 1970s, a career