The Honourable Madam Justice Desiree Bernard, the first female judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice was conferred with the honour of the eighth CARICOM Triennial Award for Women. A lawyer by profession, she began her career in 1963 when she attained a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of London. By 1964 she was a qualified Solicitor and practiced in the Guyana Law Courts until 1980, when she was appointed the first female judge in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Guyana, where she had practiced since 1965.
Guyana
In acknowledgement of her exceptional career accomplishments,Professor Joycelin Massiah was conferred the CARICOM Triennial Award for Women in 1996. A true Caribbean citizen, Professor Massiah’s life path transcends Caribbean boundaries having been born in Guyana, studied and worked for several years in Jamaica and now residing as a citizen of Barbados. As a renowned Caribbean academic, scholar and intellectual, she has, through her scholarly research, contributed significantly to shaping the agenda on women and development in the Region and the movement for promoting women’s rights.
Magda Lois Muriel Pollard, national of Guyana, and stalwart women’s activist was fittingly bestowed the honour of the fourth CARICOM Triennial Award for Women in 1993. Throughout her country of birth and the wider Caribbean region, the name Magda Pollard is synonymous with the movement for women’s empowerment and women’s rights. The creation of a liberating and sustaining environment for women is the passion which fuels her lifelong and consistent service in the arena of women’s development.
Sir Shridath Ramphal, a national of Guyana, and an international figure of repute received the honour of membership of the Order of the Caribbean Community in the first conferment of 1992.
A recipient of numerous awards and honours from several countries, international bodies and academic institutions, including Knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen of England, he has served with distinction the people of his nation, the Region and the wider international community in a multiplicity of roles.