This project was approved by the NSC as an unusual but creative means of educating and advocating for actions to be taken with respect to CC. The initial idea was to use a fusion of music and the spoken word to convey ideas, concepts and recommendations associated with CC and the public.

Environmental outputs achieved:

(i) Awareness and sensitization of over 100 persons on climate change mitigation at two
artistic performances in Castries and Vieux Fort;
(ii) Two CBOs were strengthened with new skills and improvement in project and programme
administration;
(iii) Baseline perception survey was completed and showed that many respondents had heard of
climate change "but most of them demonstrated confusion and a significant lack of
knowledge of the issues. They also seemed less aware of how climate change could affect
their local community"; and
(iii) Environmental advocacy in climate change mitigation achieved through the increased
involvement of prominent and talented cultural actors.

Other project outputs included the following:

(i) Gender equity achieved in both production and performances. Women as well as men
participated in various stages of the project cycle;
(ii) Capacity of the grantee was increased and improved in such areas as social media; the
establishment of a new website and greater efficiency in data base and mailing list
management;
(iii) Capacity of a second community group increased in the administration of social surveys; and
(iv) Measurable economic impact achieved in the areas of short term employment (see
Information below)

Economic Impact in the Community ? Short Term Employment

(i) Eighteen (18) persons were employed as service providers (11 men; 7 women);
(ii) Total remuneration ? XCD$46,580.00 (US$17,252). Of that total men received XCD$42,050
(US$15,574) and women received XCD$4530 (US$1678.00).

Employment was created in the areas of: (i) Catering; (ii) Transportation; (iii) Consulting Services for website construction; (iv) use of social media; (v) creation of electronic mailing list; (vi) Lighting Services; and (vii) Contract for Musicians.

Challenges: This project encountered a number of challenges emanating from:

(i) the limited capacity of the grantee who underestimated the effort, time and supervision
required for this project, in addition to their many other responsibilities; and

(ii) a mis-understanding of the focus of the project by the main project partners. The grantee?s
original goal was to produce a musical with complementary artistic performances, with the
emphasis on the musical component, whereas the community theatrical group that was hired in
a competitive process focused on the theatrical aspect with less emphasis on the musical
aspect. The result was a more costly process which exceeded the budget and created some
tensions which were amicably resolved with all parties making significant in-kind contributions.

Notwithstanding these challenges, the parties were able to put on two major productions and they have produced a 26 minute DVD which is on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRUq0AFZRkg

Here are the major lessons learned by the grantee during project implementation:

?(i) Time should be spent up front discussing and agreeing on the main messages that will be communicated before allowing the artists to begin work: ?there is much value in using popular art forms to convey environmental and other social and developmental messages, but environmental activists and artists must find ways to communicate and must understand each other?s perspectives. In a project such as this, time must be spent developing and agreeing on the message or messages to be conveyed, and only when there is such an agreement should the artists work on their interpretation and communication. This is particularly critical in the case of climate change, because it is a phenomenon for which countries such as Saint Lucia are not responsible, and because most of the behavioural change required locally has to do with adaptation, not with actions that can help mitigate change;

(ii) It is important to be proactive in seeking proposals and assisting potential applicants to develop concepts: After initial discussions with artists and producers, Labowi Promotions got the impression that there was strong interest, and therefore limited the call to six individuals and groups, expecting that most if not all of them would submit a proposal, or at least an expression of interest. In effect, only two proposals were received. The call for proposals was very explicit that Labowi Promotions did not expect an elaborate submission, but it seems that the word ?proposal? is in itself intimidating;

(iii) Clear Communications, agreements and priority emphasis are needed up-front to avoid persons playing only to their strengths and delivering what is required: the project was conceived as a musical performance with an environmental message, not as a theatrical performance. This presented a number of benefits, especially in the context of the re-design of the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival to include other art forms, but it also presented a number of challenges. It illustrated the practical difficulty of staging both types of performances (music and enacted word) on the same stage, a difficulty that Labowi Promotions did not appreciate when confirming the engagement of SAT for this production; and

(iv) It was ambitious, and perhaps a mistake, to aim at creating this performance within the Jazz in the South festival: it would most likely have been better if the performance had been staged before the festival, to test production?.