PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (GISL) -- Over the next week, representatives of various Community Groups will have the chance to contribute to a National Community Development Policy.
The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts is working on developing a National Community Development Policy. On Tuesday 24th January, 2017, the Vistabella Regional Complex was the venue for the first of three consultations.
“Today’s conversation is about getting your views. You are the people who know the community best and you will know what you want to see. We will keep you informed on the progress of this policy, because we intend to take it all the way.” Mrs Angela Edwards, Permanent Secretary, Minister of Community Development, was present to give Welcoming Remarks.
According to Dr. Donna Mae Knights, Policy Co-Ordinator, Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, “We have very clear objectives for these Policy Consultations. We are working with you to review Community Development Practices among Community-Based Organisations, understand your perception of a developed community; identify and understand the major assets in your community and obtain feedback on key consideration to be addressed.”
After the formal welcome, Ms Lissa-Anne Edwards, Monitoring and Evaluation Professional conducted the focus group session. The groups represented included religious bodies, cultural groups and civic societies. A number of pertinent matters were raised by representatives of the various groups. The community workers spoke of the importance of getting young people involved in community work and saw them as true assets in their communities. They were also interested in getting more access to persons in authority in their respective areas including Members of Parliament, Councillors and Community Development Officers. Another cross-cutting issue was safety and security in the communities - particularly for people who are involved in community based activities that finish in the late evening. The session closed with the interviewees calling for a quarterly forum in communities where they could raise issues and explore solutions.
The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts will continue their current-state analysis which will feed into the National Community Development Policy over the next week in the Northern and Central Regions.