I wish to first of all to express the CARICOM Secretariat’s deep appreciation to the Government and People of Suriname for graciously hosting this important meeting and for their warm hospitality and excellent conference arrangements. Our appreciation also extends to the European Union for its ongoing support of the Caribbean Community’s regional integration process, and in particular this most critical aspect- civil society and government partnership in furtherance of the region’s integration and development agenda.

Most of all, I must extend my thanks to you, the representatives. Your presence here signifies your willingness to contribute, to be a part of our Community’s efforts to make itself better, to become more relevant and more meaningful to current and future Caribbean generations. You are, collectively, a microcosm of our larger Caribbean, and our meeting and its outcomes must respond to the expectations of the larger Community which you represent and which is made up of State and Non-State Actors.

I also wish to acknowledge the important consultative role played by the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC) in helping to bring this CARICOM Civil Society Project process, to this point, following the National and Regional Consultations. The preparation of the Regional Strategic Framework (RSF) for strengthened relations between and among Caribbean civil society, national governments and appropriate decision-making Organs of the Caribbean Community, has provided us with useful options for consideration on a Way Forward.

Distinguished Representatives, the next two days in which you will each and all play an integral part are important to our Community. They are days of exchange and common counsel on how best all the stakeholders of the Caribbean Community can work together to achieve common development aspirations. Your views as technical experts from government and civil society will inform the selection of a framework for consultation between and among States and Non-State Actors of the Community that will provide our decision-makers, Ministers and Heads of Government, with a suggested blueprint for more effectively pursuing a new era in regional integration and development.

The new era of which I speak is characterized, inter alia, by increased ‘people participation’ in every aspect of human development through increasingly complex and inclusive networks – both real and virtual. This is right and necessary, and as CARICOM seeks to consolidate the mantra of ‘A Community for All’ which was sounded by CARICOM leaders a few years ago, relevant, constructive and interactive processes and frameworks must be developed, and more critically, they must be agreed and operationalised.

Hence the thrust of this Technical Meeting - to discuss, debate and finally agree upon a framework from amongst the three before us, to facilitate strengthened relations between and among Caribbean civil society, national governments and appropriate decision-making organs of the Caribbean Community. It is important to note that whichever of the three options/frameworks is agreed upon, what is common to them all is an Action Plan which, though it will no doubt require adjustment, nevertheless speaks to the essential of any option decided- which is that option must be acted upon.

We have seen elsewhere in the world around us the negative effects that could obtain when people and governments do not share a vision. Since the independence of our countries in the last half century, CARICOM States have fortunately found incremental means of dialoguing, primarily through democratic processes. But as with each stage of development, the more one advances, the better one is expected to be. At CARICOM’s present stage of development, it must be better at inclusive, regular and meaningful dialogue between and amongst stakeholders. There must also be greater awareness of the diverse and critical contribution of civil society to the betterment of our societies. This social capital is an asset that like all forms of capital needs to be tended and to be fructified.

We have made some progress to date, but we have also allowed precious opportunities to slip through our fingers. That is the past. Now is a time for consolidation of the progress made, for an objective scrutiny of lessons learnt, and for a decisive step forward using all the avenues available. This step on which we are embarking today is a technical one that will build on decisions made since the adoption of the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society in 1997, on the creative opportunities not fully exploited since the Forward Together Conference in 2002, and on the new opportunities being created since the launch of the CARICOM Civil Society Project in 2010.

In a rapidly evolving and increasingly complex world, our survival and prosperity depend on our capacity to harness our collective skills, wisdom and experience to make an integral partnership - that between and among Non-State and State Actors so that this can become a real tool for development. Through National Consultations which culminated in a Regional Consultation held in Trinidad and Tobago in February of this year, we have reinvigorated the regional effort to do just that. This Technical Meeting is intended to further refine the process of consultation that will lead to a definitive mutually agreed framework. It is within our means and remit to deliver handsomely so that Regional decision-making bodies and Councils are presented with the most complete and practical framework.

In concluding, it is my pleasure to convey to you, on behalf of the CARICOM Secretary-General, best wishes for a successful and productive meeting.

Thank you.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org
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