Civil Society Organisations in Guyana are being urged to be opportunistic in their dialogue with Government, as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) continues its series of national consultations with the Regions' civil society, aimed at building a shared vision across the Region for the Caribbean Community, in the new century.
The one-day consultation hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Guyana's Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) Forum attracted a total of 50 persons representing a wide cross-section of civil society organisations including representatives from women's groups, farmers associations, trade unions, religious bodies, indigenous groups, the youth and the private sector.
In her Opening Remarks, setting the tone of the consultations, the Hon. Gail Teixeira, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, acting on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, acknowledged the significant role of civil society in the new world order. “We face challenges as small economies and our capacity to respond to global changes is limited if we do not integrate the ideas of all sectors of society” she said, adding “this meeting is one effort to achieve even minimum consensus towards the attainment of a common vision and democracy for the Caribbean Community.”
She told participants that the influence of civil society in nation-building and moreover in the discourse on a development thrust for the Community was nothing new. “We have only reached a more sophisticated level by instituting, constituting and enshrining these engagements in law, but civil society has always been a part of the dynamics of development” Hon. Teixeira intimated. She described the meeting as “the coming of age” in Guyana and encouraged participants to direct their dialogue in the context of national and cultural relevance as they prepared for further interaction at the regional level later this year.
Director, Human Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, Ms Jacqueline Joseph, making reference to the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society, informed participants that the Revised CARICOM Treaty makes provisions for a new concept of policy development and planning, and that the civil society was structured in that new arrangement under the purview of the Council for Human and Social Development.
The deliberations of the forum were centred around key issues for the Region at this time, including human resource development, justice and governance, and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. Participants hope to develop a national position paper for the “Regional Forward Together Encounter” now scheduled for April 26-27, in Georgetown, Guyana.
The Guyana consultation is part of a process in which CARICOM has been engaged since June 2001, as it moves to intensify its consultation with Civil Society in the development of a new economic model for the Region.
National Consultations are also scheduled for The Bahamas, Dominica, Montserrat, and Antigua and Barbuda to complete the full round of dialogue across the Community.
