Sustainable Development Hosts Lunch Series

“Unemployment, Underemployment and How to Stay Motivated” was the name of the first Brown Bag Lunch event to be organized by the Sustainable Development Department (SDD) in a series of upcoming lunches aimed at facilitating open discussions by the general public on various topics affecting Bermuda.

A spokesperson said, “The event, which took place on February 19th, saw a group of people ranging from high school graduates to experienced business professionals gather together in the Sustainable Development (SD) Boardroom for an hour-long discussion on unemployment and underemployment.

“Cabinet Intern Caitlin Gordon, who helped to facilitate the luncheon during her three-month rotation with SDD, said she was “highly impressed and appreciative” of the proactive and informative approach that attendees took in discussing the subject, especially considering the sensitive nature of the topic.

“The conversation was open and one without judgment”, said Miss Gordon. “Very real opinions and experiences were shared, and what stood out was attendees’ willingness to reveal experiences of how they coped when they were unemployed or underemployed.”

“A debate of whether attendees would be willing to take a job outside of their specified area of interest or below their skill set occurred and one of the attendees stated that Bermudians should “not be afraid to reinvent themselves” while another emphasized the importance of “thinking outside of the box” when it comes to creating employment opportunities for oneself.

“As a result, the discussion shifted to how people can make themselves more marketable irrespective of their educational background and how to change the sometimes negative perception of non-professional jobs.

“The next Brown Bag lunch is entitled Alternatives to Incarceration: Should We or Shouldn’t We and will take place on Friday, March 22 at 12 noon. These sessions provide meaningful insight for the work of the department.”

SD Officer Lynniece Nisbett Garnett explained that “Connecting to people in the community inserts the human element into Sustainable Development’s evaluation and recommendation of policy initiatives.” Those that are interested in attending the next brown bag event should email sdd@gov.bm to RSVP as spaces are limited.

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