 Coming to you from RGIS Studios, I am Anicia Antoine and this is your midday news brief. In commemoration of St. Lucia's 40th Independence Anniversary, the government of St. Lucia hosted an unveiling ceremony of the 40th Independence Monument. The monument serves as a permanent tribute to the forefathers who steered the land to statehood. Honourable Sarah Floodbobre, Parliamentary Representative for Cass Street Central, stated that the monument should serve as a reminder to continue their legacy. Renowned sculptor Charlie Murovic depicted the spirit of the nation's independence in a monument that symbolizes the St. Lucia tradition of Kudme reflecting the independence theme all in. Murovic expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister of St. Lucia and the 40th Independence Committee for granting him this opportunity. The unveiling ceremony took place on Thursday, October 3, 2019 at the Cass Street's Waterfront. The second phase of training under the project Mainstreaming Gender Equality in St. Lucia's National Sustainable Development Plan recently concluded at the National Skills Development Centre. The project was launched earlier this year with the inception mission by consultants from Niagara College, Canada. The gender mainstreaming project seeks to ensure that gender is mainstreamed throughout the public service. Since May of 2019, public servants have been introduced to gender concepts and gender analysis with the aim of ensuring that during planning and budgeting in the public service, issues related to men and women are dealt with equally. The project is being implemented by the Government of St. Lucia through a grant from the Caribbean Development Bank. The Department of Fisheries in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO hosted a workshop for stakeholders to develop a national fisheries policy which will inform the manner in which the sub-sector initiates actions to sustain, safeguard and expand fisheries livelihoods. The workshop is an integral component of the technical cooperation project which is entitled Assistant with the Development of the National Policy on Fisheries. Its objective is to revise the national fisheries plan in order to incorporate clear policy statements on a number of thematic areas impacting the local fisheries, marine and aquaculture sector. Deputy Chief Fisheries Officer attached to the Department of Fisheries, Thomas Nelson explained concerns such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, post-harvest issues on the ground such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade and the overall impact of climate change on the industry with the forefront of their deliberations. This has been your midday news brief. Thank you for watching.