(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Deputy Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite told a meeting of CARICOM Ministers of Sports taking place in Guyana, that sport must be one of the critical tools used to boost economic activity in the Region.
As she addressed the opening ceremony of the 17th Special Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development with a focus on Sport, Ambassador Applewhaite asserted that Sport must be developed and treated as part of the tradable sector and be re-positioned to contribute to the sustainable livelihood of people in the Region.
The CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General said this was the thinking which led CARICOM Heads of Government at their May 2011 Retreat in Guyana, to identify Sports Tourism as one of the priority areas for further emphasis in the development of the Community.
“The business of sport must be pursued vigorously, and this must be done with a serious dialogue among stakeholders – governments, the private sector, sport organisations, academia and the sportsmen and women,” she opined.
Ministers of Sports and other key stakeholders are meeting at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana for two days to address issues related to sport and sport development in the Caribbean. This Special Meeting of COHSOD is addressing among other agenda items, the inclusion of persons of all ages with disabilities; the strengthening of physical education in schools and the inclusion of the elderly and persons with disabilities in physical activities.
Reports indicate that over the past 10 years the population of senior citizens has increased dramatically with more than 7-percent of the Region’s population over 60 years of age.
Ambassador Applewhaite noted that “it was critical to ensure that our people adopt active and healthy lifestyles across every stage of their life cycle.”
She acknowledged further that greater emphasis must be placed on the management of our seniors and persons with disabilities; and that provisions must be made for them to become and remain healthy and functioning members of society.
The CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General told the Meeting of Ministers that the Caribbean region had made significant strides in addressing organised physical education and sport for persons with disabilities, acknowledging that there was “much we can share with, and learn from, each other.”
In the face of overwhelming evidence that physical activity and sport can minimize and prevent lifestyle related diseases, Ambassador Applewhaite stressed the point that healthy lifestyles through physical activity could lessen the burden on regional economies. In concluding, she admitted that while much work had been done in the Region for the advancement of sport, there was still much more to be done to ensure that “sport is transitioned from a mere pastime to a valuable feature of our societies.”
