A two-day roundtable, aimed at formulating a five-year strategic plan to tackle social cohesion, will begin tomorrow at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre.
The event, which is to be held under the theme ‘Social Cohesion for Lasting Unity and Peace,’ has been organised by the Ministry of Social Cohesion, which hopes to engage and garner contributions from citizens to enhance togetherness at the community and national levels.
Following the event, which will see presentations and working groups on the first day and the crafting of the plan by technical personnel on the second day, it is hoped that practical options and strategies for building social cohesion will be identified.
The event is being financed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the British High Commission.
Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday, Minister of Social Cohesion Amna Ally said once the plan is put together the government would immediately begin implementation.
“We are going to work with that plan because it is going to be something that will be coming out of the workshops, coming out from representatives of the regions and the stakeholders and, therefore, it is going to be an authentic plan and they are going to be the best people to know what prevails and what we ought to do to achieve social cohesion in our country,” the minister said.
She did, however, caution that implementation of the plan will take time and she stressed that it should not be expected that social cohesion would be achieved in Guyana overnight. “But the important thing is that we must begin working towards that, so that, at some point in time, we are able to overcome the challenges and we are able to achieve it,” she added.
According to the minister, some 50 stakeholders have participated in preparatory meetings leading up to the event, including faith-based organisations. When asked, she said the opposition PPP’s youth arm and the women’s arm, the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) and the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO), respectively, were invited to those meetings and that the party itself has been invited to the roundtable. However, at the regional level, the minister said that the regional officials from the regions controlled by the PPP/C have attended meetings.
Meanwhile, one of the facilitators of the event, Lawrence Lachmansingh, who has worked extensively in the area of social cohesion here, said the country is close to being “a trendsetter” in the area, with work done over 12 years ago with the assistance of UNDP. At that time, Lachmansingh was with the UNDP and the coordinator of its social cohesion programme.
Lachmansingh pointed out yesterday that social cohesion is a long-term agenda and every time work commences it needs to be started “from scratch” to ensure everyone understands what is being talked about. “Among the many important tasks ahead of us in Guyana is to clarify what we mean by that and I think that is a good challenge but we have a lot of work done certainly over a period of 12 years…,” he stated, while noting that work started in 2003 led to what is known as Guyana’s “first peaceful elections” in 2006.
According to Lachmansingh, work in the area has been encouraging and brings optimism about finding answers to any “in-cohesion that we are trying to fix.” He added that the roundtable will bring together the experts and others who would identify the issues that would inform the government and other organisations.
Also involved in the process 12 years ago was South African Chris Spies, who was also at the UNDP, and who will be Wednesday’s international facilitator.
The roundtable is one the major focal points of the new ministry and according to Minister Ally there will be presentations by international experts, the UNDP, the British High Commission, President David Granger, former Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Shridath Ramphal and a representative from the Common-wealth. Following the presentations, a number of working groups will be formed to examine areas identified by stakeholders as affecting people in Guyana.
The ministry commenced its work by conducting sensitisation programmes in the ten administrative regions that are still ongoing. According to the minister, inequalities meted out to children and economic empowerment were two of the main issues raised by citizens in the various regions.
Ally pointed out that inequalities, disparities, and ethnic barriers, among other things, are all issues that her ministry hopes to address to “bridge the gaps” since there is need for “national unity, [and a] need for togetherness so that we could work together to build our country.”
She described the role of the ministry as challenging but added that with the support of stakeholders, Guyanese and international support the question of “bridging the gap” will be achieved.
Meanwhile, stressing the importance of the concept of social cohesion, British High Commissioner Greg Quinn said Britain is happy to support the event. “This is not for the minister or the ministry or us or anybody else to control. This is for everybody in Guyana to take responsibility for and to be part of. Everybody in this country has a role and responsibility in promoting and encouraging and ensuring that there is social cohesion,” Quinn said, while adding that the space needs to be provided for persons to say what their problems are and get involved in constructive debate. He described the roundtable as one such event that would push this process.
