By Elesha George
In his stride towards promoting environmental consciousness and sustainable practices, Kendra Beazer, the Environment Thematic Lead at the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT), continues to play a pivotal role in advancing the environmental agenda of Commonwealth countries.
The QCT, a platform dedicated to encouraging young leaders to engage and support each other across the Commonwealth, provides appointed leaders like Beazer, who is from Barbuda, with a unique opportunity to identify, encourage, and connect unseen and unheard young leaders for collective action and change in their communities.
As such, Beazer has been instrumental in facilitating the progression of environmental initiatives within the Commonwealth. Throughout his tenure, he has worked closely with fellows from Tanzania and now India, collaborating on projects that focus on preserving the environment and its natural resources.
“We have been working with persons from across the Commonwealth who are working on environmental issues. So, we deal with issues ranging from pollution, and waste disposal, climate change, agriculture – all of the issues are interrelated,” he said.
Their assistance comes in the form of recommendations for speaking arrangements to funding opportunities, all of which he said bring changemakers together to create solutions for the Commonwealth.
“A lot of the times the solutions for the issues are the same but we don’t necessarily communicate, so often time you have persons re-inventing the wheel,” he explained.
Beazer’s success in reapplying for the position for a second consecutive year underscores his dedication and expertise in tackling pressing environmental issues.
He holds a Master of Arts Degree in Environmental Policy Design which puts him in a great position to develop and inform on policy-based solutions for the environment that can drive development in these countries.
He has his sights set on making a global change and hopes to, one day, return home to Antigua and Barbuda to give the sister island in particular a voice in the global discourse.
“I know that at some point in my life I will return to the Caribbean and Antigua and Barbuda specifically, taking everything that life would have been teaching me to actually drive things forward for my community,” he concluded.
