ISSN 0799 –2386
Vision 2030 Jamaica Update
Vol. 6 Issue # 2
ISSN 0799 –2386
UPDATE A Quarterly Newsletter of the Planning Institute of Jamaica
APRIL 2013 – JUNE 2013 IN THIS ISSUE APRIL 2013 – JUNE 2013
Caribbean Growth Forum Jamaica Kick-Off Workshop… Jamaica, on Tuesday, May 2, 2013, became the 10th Caribbean Island to host a national kick-off Caribbean Growth Forum (CGF) workshop, aimed at facilitating private sector led growth and job creation. The forum was held at the University of the West Indies, Mona, as part of a region-wide advocacy for the identification of practical and implementable policies and activities to induce growth and create jobs throughout the region. This initiative comes against the background of the fiscal challenges, precipitated by the global financial crisis, which many countries in the region now face. The event was attended by approximately 250 participants from the public and private sectors, academia and the media, decision makers, business leaders, policy makers, youth leaders and other stakeholders. They discussed and brainstormed solutions towards addressing country specific constraints to growth. The workshop served to establish the CGF National Chapter in Jamaica and the three Thematic Working Groups based on three main areas—Logistics and Connectivity, the Investment Climate, and Skills and Productivity—all aligned to the government’s growth agenda. The CGF is a regional project supported by a number of international development partners, including: the World Bank; Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Caribbean
Development Bank (IDB); as well as Compete Caribbean. The organizations work in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). General Manager, Caribbean Country Department at the IDB, Gerard Johnson, in explaining the IDB’s involvement in the Forum, at a CGF pre-publicity media sensitization event on the JIS Think Tank Programme, noted that the lack of growth was not just a Jamaican problem, and that there was a comfortable level of confidence by the IDB and other donor/grant agencies in what can be accomplished by the Caribbean Growth Forum. Mr Johnson noted further that the idea was to join with Jamaica in its efforts to “convene groups and in an urgent fashion, put Jamaica on a growth path and bring international experiences in that area. Hopefully our presence, our energies and commitment to work with you and be guided by you, will help accelerate what you’re doing already,” he added. The kick-off workshop marked the beginning of an intense dialogue that is expected to last for a period of 5-6 weeks, to build consensus around key priorities for reforms in the country. As such, follow-up workshops have been held around the three thematic working areas.
5TH BIENNIAL JAMAICA DIASPORA CONFERENCE Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller (c), at the head table, during the Opening Ceremony of the 5th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference at the Rose Hall Hilton Hotel & Spa, on Sunday, June 16, 2013. Page 2
READ ACROSS JAMAICA DAY Pupils of the Swallowfield Primary & Junior High School read from the Vision 2030 Jamaica Popular Version as they participate in “Read Across Jamaica Day” on Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Page 3 More… New Champion Outreach & Consultations Tracking Our Progress Community Renewal Programme Next Steps & Bite of the Quarter What’s Happening? Our Vision for Jamaica
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