ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC -Climate change issues and social inequalities in the Caribbean region are being discussed here on Friday in preparation for Barbados hosting the 16th Ministerial Development Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean in October.
The Eastern Caribbean preparatory meeting conference is being held in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“The objective of today’s meeting is to provide leaders of social development, environment and finance and senior technocrats with an opportunity and open space to exchange ideas and strategies and engage in candid discussions before the 16th Ministerial Development Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Today is our individual and collective opportunity to share, learn, and position ourselves for the ministerial forum to be held in person for the first time in our region in Barbados from October 30 to November 1,” said the Minister of State in the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Social Services Dr. Cassandra Williams.
She told the delegates, which also included the Barbados Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, that the forum will focus on addressing regional challenges such as inequalities, climate vulnerability, and the resilience of social safety nets under the theme “Resilience in Action: Social Policies to Navigate Uncertainties in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Williams said she is confident that positive outcomes can be achieved following the meeting here.
She said the event today will have four thematic sessions covering digitalization, climate vulnerability and social safety nets, resilience adaptability, and social protection policies and financing.
“Our agenda is a bit ambitious, but I am confident that with our expertise, insight, and collaborative spirit, we will achieve outcomes reflecting common aspirations for stability and mutual prosperity.
“Today is an opportunity for frank, candid, robust, and open discussion in developing and understanding social development and social protection systems that are inclusive, universal, fiscally sustainable, swift, and resilient and how these support systems can be integrated by us all in our common sustainable, resilient development agenda.”
She said the Caribbean hopes to maximize the benefit of the event here as it prepares for the forum in Barbados.
The Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean was held for the first time in 2007 to provide ministers and other decision-makers with a space to discuss experiences in public policies in human and social development and identify responses to the region’s new challenges.
This event, organized by the host government with the support of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean and various other agencies, focuses on particularly important and relevant issues for the region.
The Barbados forum, which is being hosted by the Barbados government with the support of UNDP and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), will focus on how social policies can contribute to building resilience in uncertain times.
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