UNESCO launches WINGS Caribbean to advance science, women, Caribbean transformation

The UNESCO Regional Office for the Caribbean launched this week WINGS Caribbean (Women Inspiring New Generations in Science), a new fellowship initiative designed to support outstanding mid-career and advanced-career women researchers and innovators whose work addresses some of the Caribbean’s most pressing development challenges and priorities.

These include climate and environmental resilience, disaster risk reduction, digital innovation, applied scientific research, social development, governance, social entrepreneurship and community-based research.

WINGS Caribbean will award two fellowships of US$10,000 each, one in STEM and one in Social Impact, and fellows will have up to 12 months to develop projects capable of delivering practical and measurable societal benefits.

“The Caribbean needs the full power of its scientific talent to meet the challenges ahead, and women must be at the centre of that effort,” said Eric Falt, regional director of UNESCO for the Caribbean. “WINGS Caribbean is about advancing science itself by ensuring that some of the Caribbean’s most talented women researchers and innovators have the opportunity, resources and visibility to develop solutions that can make a tangible difference to our societies.”

WINGS Caribbean is being implemented by the UNESCO Regional Office for the Caribbean, in technical collaboration with the Faculty of Science and Technology at The University of the West Indies, Mona, and the Caribbean Academy of Sciences.

For Dr Marvadeen Singh-Wilmot, senior lecturer at UWI Mona, this partnership on WINGS Caribbean is critical because “it invests in the Caribbean’s own capacity to solve its problems”.

“Caribbean women are already doing excellent work, but limited resources and uneven pathways to visibility, leadership and influence too often restrict the impact of that work. WINGS responds by supporting them and advancing solutions that are scientifically sound, socially grounded and relevant to Caribbean lives,” she added.

WINGS Caribbean builds on a growing portfolio of UNESCO initiatives supporting women and girls in science across the region. This initiative in particular seeks to support mid-career and advanced-career women so they can take their research and innovation further, strengthening their contribution to Caribbean priorities and translating scientific achievement into leadership and tangible societal impact.

Through the two fellowship streams, UNESCO and its partners aim to enhance scientific excellence, increase the visibility and leadership of women in research and innovation, and build a growing regional network of women whose work is helping to shape a more resilient, innovative and sustainable Caribbean.

The application deadline is September 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Jamaica time, and additional information can be found here:

Call for applications: https://bit.ly/4xOGuKM

Online application form: https://bit.ly/4x92vm0

For further information, please contact the UNESCO Regional Office for the Caribbean at kingston@unesco.org.