VISION 2030 JAMAICA UPDATE

The National Vision Statement is:

“Jamaica, the place of choice

to live, work, raise families,

and do business”

DID YOU KNOW?

Vision 2030 Jamaica Guides Gender Policy

2

Hot Topic ...Tracking Our Progress

3

Vision 2030 Jamaica Essay Competition

4-5

Vision 2030 Jamaica E-Dashboard of Indica-tors

5

School Launches Vision 2030 Jamaica Club

6

Community Renewal Programme

7

Communication Inter-ventions

8-9

Bite of the Quarter 10

10

10

What’s Happening

Next Steps

Breaking News

Inside this issue:

Vision 2030 Jamaica Champion Announces Departure...

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4 OCTOBER 2012 – DECEMBER 2012

P IOJ Director General,

Dr. Gladstone

Hutchinson, recently an-

nounced his imminent depar-

ture from the PIOJ to return to

his post as Professor at the

Lafayette College, Pennsylva-

nia, USA, in January 2013.

During his two and a half year

stint at the helm of the PIOJ,

he was a strong advocate and

champion of Vision 2030

Jamaica. He was to make this

obvious from his first meeting

with the PIOJ staff and

through his numerous public

speeches, beginning with his

delivery of the 17th MIND

Public Lecture in August 2010.

Then he asserted:

I would also offer that Jamaica and Jamaicans have no choice but to ag-gressively and credibly pursue Vision 2030 Jamaica, as it is not only the best way forward for achieving our aspirations, it is the only way. There is no other way that makes credible sense or that breaks the cycle of adversity and underdevelopment we have endured for too long.

Through his emphasis on Public

Scholarship, and his “inclusive

and participatory style” of lead-

ership, he ensured that every-

one — public sector, private

sector, civil society; academia

and International Develop-

ment Partners— understood

the import of that declaration;

and developed new levels of

partnership and collaboration

with the PIOJ.

He worked tirelessly and ag-

gressively, through the PIOJ, to

actualize the paradigm of

holistic national growth and

development— a development

that integrates the economic,

social, environmental and gov-

ernance aspects, rather than

one based on just economic

growth. He thus “earned the

reputation of a forceful but

effective arbiter on the entire

gamut of national development

reform efforts”.

His passion was ultimately to

give people, especially the vul-

nerable, self-agency, or to em-

power them to be active partic-

ipants in their own develop-

ment, in order to improve

their individual well-being and

that of their country.

Towards this end, he spear-

headed the development of

several initiatives, including the

Growth Inducement Strategy

and Community Renewal

Programme, which are critical

to the achievement of the goals

and ultimate vision of making

“Jamaica, the place of choice to

live, work, raise families and do

business”.

The Vision 2030 Jamaica Secre-

tariat in quoting from the PIOJ

Citation to Dr. Hutchinson,

thanks you DG“...for inspiring

greater confidence in our Institution

and in the country which we serve.

You have motivated us to put aside

skepticism and release ourselves from

a state of bounded imagination, re-

signed preferences and rational myo-

pia, and to achieve our ‘conciliant’

goals”.

“We will always remember your

wit, your warmth and your wis-

dom” and look forward to your

continued championship of

Vision 2030 Jamaica - National

Development Plan.

PIOJ Director General, Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson will

demit office in mid January 2013, after leading the Institute for ap-

proximately two and a half years .

P ag e 2 VISION 2030 JAMAICA UPDATE V o l u m e 5 , I ss u e 4

Did You Know? - Vision 2030 Jamaica Guides Gender Policy ...

V ision 2030 Jamaica - National Development Plan acknowledges

gender as a cross-cutting issue for all national development initiatives.

Vision 2030 Jamaica and more specifical-ly, the Gender Sector Plan provides the overarching framework for Jamaica’s achievement of gender equality. The primary goal of the Sector Plan is to see a society free of discrimination based on sex and other grounds; where all males and females at all stages of the life cycle can enjoy full human rights and develop their full potential as productive citizens.

The National Policy for Gender Equali-ty (NPGE) therefore, outlines the implementation of this Vision and communicates the strategies and tools that will be utilized in the quest for achieving gender equality, and allows for an integrated and coordinated gender mainstreaming approach to equality. The NPGE underlines the need to fo-cus on empowerment strategies that demonstrate an understanding of essen-tial linkages within sectors.

For both plans, there is a recognition that the NPGE and Vision 2030 Jamaica are people-centred and transformative and speak to enhancing the quality of life of all Jamaicans. The long-term vision of both is to create a society that treats each gender equally, regardless of socioeconomic background, and pro-vide equal opportunities for all in all spheres of human involvement.

Most importantly, both aim to encour-

age the Jamaican community to recognize that development must involve the reduction of gender inequalities as an integral element of achieving equitable growth, and are essential planks for Jamaica to become a developed country. The Vision is that both women and men will have equal access to socially valued goods and services and are empowered to share equally in and contribute to national development.

In March 2011, Cabinet approved the National Policy on Gender Equality (NPGE) which seeks to mainstream gender considera-tions into all activities undertaken by state institutions, non-government organizations and the private sector. This was done to ensure that females and males have equal access to opportunities and re-sources in order to eliminate discrimina-tion and to promote sustainable human development.

Jamaica was the first Eng-lish-speaking country in the Caribbean to achieve uni-versal adult suffrage in 1944 and grant women the right to be elected to Parliament. It was a process that many thought would bring an enlightened approach to democracy and governance as well as a robust starting

point for gender equality.

Article submitted by: Mareeca Brown Gender Specialist Social Policy Planning and Research Division PIOJ

“The Vision is that both women

and men will have equal access to

socially valued goods and services

and are empowered to share

equally in and contribute to

national development”


Tracking Our Progress (As presented at the PIOJ Quarterly Press Briefing, November 20, 2012)

UU nder the Vision 2030

Jamaica - National

Development Plan framework, key

indicators of national well-being are

examined under eight main

areas— Health Status, Education

Status, Labour Force Quality, Security

Status, Justice Status, Economic

Growth, Employment, and Environmental

Stewardship Status — as shown in

the diagram: National Dash-

board of Indicators.

In this issue, we present a summary

report for the July 2012 to Septem-

ber 2012 quarter of performance on

two of the main areas— Labour

Force Quality and Security Status. An

overview of performance shows

improvement in both areas.

Labour Force Quality

Under Labour Force Quality, as shown in the diagram: National Goal #1, 24.5 per cent of the total labour force had vocational or professional certification based on the quarterly labour force survey for July 2012. This represents an increase of 0.6 percentage point compared with 23.9 per cent with vocational

or professional certifi-cation in the July 2011 survey.

Security Status

With respect to Major

Crimes (murder,

shooting, rape, carnal

abuse/sexual inter-

course against a male

or female under the

age of 16, robbery,

break-ins and larceny),

as indicated by the Diagram:

National Goal #2, 276 major

crimes per 100,000 population

were committed over the

period January to September

2012, a decline of 9.6 per cent

from 305 per 100,000 popula-

tion over the similar period in

2011. The murder rate for Jan-

uary to September 2012 was 31

per 100,000 population, up 1.1

per cent over the similar

period in 2011.

These figures for the current year

continue the overall downward trend

in crime rates that began in June of

2010.

Article Submitted by: R. Lumsden Programme Director Vision 2030 Jamaica Secretariat PIOJ


Vision 2030 Jamaica Essay Competition ...Vision 2030 Jamaica Essay Competition ...

O VER 70 STUDENTS aged 10 to 19 years from primary and

secondary schools across the island, took the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and opinions about Vision 2030 Jamaica, by entering the Vision 2030 Jamaica Essay Competi-tion which was advertised in Octo-ber.

The competition was held as part of the strategy to create awareness and understanding of the Vision 2030 Jamaica – National Development Plan among the school population, which is critical to the successful achieve-ment of Vision 2030 Jamaica.

The competition also served as another means by which students could hone and exhibit their research and essay writing skills.

Students were invited to enter in one of two categories:

Category I — for students aged 10 - 14 years Category II — for students aged 15 - 19 years Prizes include: an iPad 2, Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD and the Coby Tablet. The schools of the 1st prize winners will receive the Vision 2030 Jamaica Essay Competition Trophy.

In late December, selections were made for first, second and third place entries in each category which best satisfied the Judges’ criteria.

The competition was organized by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) in collaboration with the Core Curriculum Unit, Ministry of Education.

AUDIO BOOK NEARS COMPLETION…

Just pop the CD in — your car or other CD player; or download it to your MP3 player— and learn all you can about Jamaica’s first long-term national development plan that aims to transform your well-being and country over the next 17 years to 2030; as well as how you

can become an agent of change in this process.

Key stakeholders at home and abroad will have this opportunity when the Vision 2030 Jamaica Popular Version Audio Book is completed in early February 2013. Described as a “labour of love” by Coral Crew-Noble, a member of the Jamaican Diaspora who is currently spearheading the production in collabora-tion with the Vision 2030 Jamaica Secretariat, PIOJ, the audio book is being narrated by Jamaicans (including some well-known voices) from home and in the Diaspora.

To help get the message across in a light-hearted and entertaining way, the audio book includes snippets of information called “Culture Bytes” that are conveyed through popular Jamaican folk and popular tunes created specifically

for the Vision 2030 Jamaica Popular Version by PIOJ member of staff, Mrs. Collette Robinson.

Member of the Jamaican Diaspora, Ms. Coral Crew-Noble (left), in discussion with Sound Technician, Paul Davidson, at the Creative Sounds Ltd. Studios in Kingston.


Creating a Vision 2030 Jamaica E-Dashboard of Indicators ...

S takeholders in Jamaica and abroad, will soon be able to

access information on the progress of Vision 2030 Jamaica at the click of a button. That’s because the Vision 2030 Jamaica Secretariat in collabora-tion with the JamStats Unit, DevInfo Support Group and a specially formed Dashboard Oversight Com-mittee, is in the process of develop-ing a dedicated link to the Vision 2030 Jamaica website. This will pro-vide an interactive graphical dash-board on the Internet, communi-cating how Jamaica is progressing towards developed country status by the year 2030.

Currently, data related to the pro-gress of Vision 2030 Jamaica is acces-sible on the JamStats website, and in quarterly reports produced by the Vision 2030 Jamaica Secretariat.

Part of the difficulty with accessing data by these media is that many per-sons either do not know how to use the technology or do not wish to read through quarterly reports for the information they require.

Kirk Chambers, Research Assistant at the PIOJ, and a Technical Advisor for the project, points out that with the creation of the new dashboard

interface, users, including those from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), the international develop-ment community, the general popu-lace and the world at large, will have direct access to relevant information, at a glance, on the performance of Vision 2030 Jamaica indicators. They will also have the opportunity to be more involved in monitoring the country’s development progress. The DevInfo-powered data dash-board will display key indicators based on data contained in JamStats.

To date, over 40 indicators have been identified to be displayed on the dashboard, and some of the expected features are as follows:

Graphical presentations for each indicator in the form of line and bar graphs

Traffic signals to highlight wheth-er progress is being made on a particular indicator

Information on the definition of

the indicators Presentation of strategies towards

achieving each national outcome An interactive mock-up of the Dash-board has so far been created and the final product is scheduled for completion and launch in the first quarter of 2013.

DevInfo is a powerful database system,

developed by UNICEF in cooperation with the

UN System, to compile and disseminate data

on human development.

JamStats is a database that captures

information on some of Jamaica’s most

critical social and economic indicators. A

DevInfo adaptation, it was developed by the

Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) in

partnership with the Statistical Institute of

Jamaica (STATIN), with support from

UNICEF Jamaica.

DID YOU KNOW?

Dashboard Oversight Committee (r) from PIOJ and UNICEF, and Mr. John Toner (l), DevInfo Aid Effectiveness and Develop-ment Technical Advisor, N.Y., discuss development of the Dashboard.

What is a Dashboard?

A dashboard provides a

snapshot of the perfor-

mance of an objective, and

thereby is a useful mecha-

nism for identifying targets

not being met and areas

which require immediate

intervention.


School Launches Vision 2030 Jamaica Extra-Curricular Club

G ideon Educational Centre (GEC) launched Jamaica's first school-

based Vision 2030 Jamaica Club (V2030Ja) on Friday October 12, 2012. Principal of the GEC, Mr. Michael Aiken, is “convinced that through the Club, students and teachers at that learning institution are well on their way to embracing Vision 2030 Jamaica. " As Mr. Aiken explained, V2030Ja is an intra-curricular club, based on our National Development Plan. Intra-curricular means that the club meets during class time. “Meetings” are 15 minutes for K1 to K3 (Kindergarten) members and 30 minutes for G1 to G6 (Grades 1-6) members. Club members learn, celebrate and work toward our four National Goals and discuss what it takes to make “Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business”! Students begin by discussing and acting out questions such as: 1. What is a Vision?

2. What is your “Vision” for yourself when you grow up?

3. What would make your classroom the best classroom in the school, in Port-land & in Jamaica? (Individual re-sponsibility and collaborative activity is “drawn out” by the Adult Club Leader).

4. What would make Gideon Education-al Centre the place of choice for all children in our community?

5. What is your Vision of Jamaica when you are an adult?

6. Can you recite the Four Goals and explain them?

7. What can you do and what can we do to make the Four Goals happen as soon as possible?

Students are each given a Popular Ver-sion of the National Development Plan and songs such as The National An-them, “I am a Promise”, “Jamaica To-gether We Can” & “We’ve Got to Come Together”, are used to reinforce and excite their learning. At the Launch, Grade 5 presented a Vision 2030 Jamaica skit on the Four Goals.

The pupils also performed drama pieces, songs and dances and offered greetings to the partners in attendance, including representatives of the Ministry of Education, the Planning Institute of Jamaica, parents, community residents and other stakeholders.

Mr. Aiken further revealed that the Club was piloted for six weeks previous to the Launch to see how the children would respond to the content of the Popular Version. The V2030Ja Club is part of CARE —Creating and Reinforcing an Environ-ment of Excellence— a package of programmes at GEC that “provide an esteem-building environment for students who show signs of physical, verbal, sexual and emotional abuse. It is our way to ensure that even when family fails, school does not”.

“Our school partners with parents, community members and organisations in providing the best possible learning experience for our precious children," Mr. Aiken states.

Gideon Educational Centre is located in Kildare,

Buff Bay, Portland

Pupils at Gideon Education Centre, Buff Bay, Portland, during the launch of the Vision 2030 Jamaica Club, Friday, October 12, 2012.

Vision 2030 Jamaica Programme Director, Mr. Richard Lumsden (2nd left), participates in a Panel Discussion at the launch.

Charettes are consultative sessions often used in urban planning, where developers consult with stakeholders on ideas to be included in the design

and development of a solution to a design

problem.


Community Renewal Programme (CRP)

Seaview Gardens

Charette

On October 7, 2012, the Community Renewal Programme (CRP) in conjunction with the Urban Devel-opment Corporation (UDC) held a consulta-tive session called a “Charette” with residents of the community of Seaview Gardens.

The Charette was an opportunity to discuss with residents, the proposal for the establishment of a commercial lifestyle centre in the community and to solicit their input. The centre will cluster economic and cultural activities at a central hub, through a model that promotes and fosters employment and entrepreneurship, convenience of access to state services and to generally advance the quality of life and experiences of community residents.

The event was well attended and the idea received over-whelming sup-port. Residents also made rec-ommendations on the type of enterprises they would like to see included in the centre. These were documented and will be used to inform a feasibility study which will be conducted to better quantify the viability of the proposed initiative.

Majesty Gardens, Community on a Mission

Dubbed “Together We Build”, the sports extravaganza and talent showcase which the community of Majesty Gardens held on Thursday, November 24, 2012, was the first event of its kind for the community.

The event was an attempt by the newly constituted Majesty Gardens Community Development Committee (CDC) and all the community based organizations to help bring together all persons living in the community, as part of their unifica-tion process, as well as mark Jamaica’s 50th year of existence.

The day’s event commenced with a parade by the Seaview All Star Marching Band and was filled with sporting tournaments — basketball, netball and football (5-a-side)— organized by the Majesty Gardens New Creations Youth Club and the bas-ketball and football teams. A Domino competition was hosted by the National Dominoes Association of Jamaica for the men and face painting along with bounce a-bout and merry-go-round rides for the children.

A community awards ceremony recognizing the contribution of persons who live in and out of the community, culmi-nated the day’s event.

The programme was designed with support from the Community Renewal Programme (CRP) and the Citizens Security and Justice Programme (CSJP).

Like many other inner-city communities in Jamaica, Majesty Gardens was divided by an invisible line that segmented the community

into “Top” and “Bottom” for over 20 years. Residents on either side of the divide crossed at their own risk to visit loved ones from either section. However, through the inter-vention of the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) supported by the National Housing Trust and the Jamaica Constabulary Force, stability has been restored within the community.

Articles submitted by: Sherrian Gray & Stacey Guyah Community Renewal Secretariat PIOJ

Member of Parliament, the Hon. Anthony Hyton, speaking with residents of Seaview Gardens during the consultation. Seated next to him is Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) which houses the Secretariat of the CRP.


Communication Interventions ...

3RD ANNUAL ST. ANN SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AWARDS CEREMONY 2012 Friday, November 30, 2012

CIVIL SERVICE EXPO Tuesday November 20, 2012

Emancipation Park

The PIOJ, Vision 2030 Jamaica

Secretariat joined stakeholders in

government and civil society in

observing Civil Service Week, at

the Civil Service Expo on Friday,

November 20, 2012.

This proved to be a good oppor-

tunity for members of the public

to gather information and learn

more about Vision 2030 Jamaica.

Above left: St. Ann Vision 2030 Jamaica Ambassadors being pinned with their Vision 2030 Jamaica badge

by Mr. Richard Lumsden; and at right: they affirm the Vision 2030 Jamaica Ambassadors of St. Ann

Pledge which they created.

The St. Ann Spirit of Community Awards was held on Friday, November 30, 2012 at the Cardiff Hotel &

Spa, Runaway Bay, St. Ann. Coordinated by the Social Development Commission (SDC), the Spirit of Com-

munity Awards, now in its third year, is aimed at honouring volunteers, community-based organizations

and other stakeholders for outstanding service to others in their communities and parish, in keeping with

the national development goals and vision.

Vision 2030 Jamaica

Ambassador’s Pledge

We the ambassadors of

Vision 2030 Jamaica, prom-

ise to work with community

stakeholders to empower

citizens to stimulate econom-

ic development, enhance the

safety and security of our

communities, protect the

environment and represent

our communities in all

efforts towards making St.

Ann and by extension

Jamaica, “the place of choice

to live, work, raise families

and do business”.


Communication Interventions (cont’d)…

SDC COMMUNITY MONTH LECTURE & EXPO Wednesday November 7, 2012

Porus, Manchester

To whip up students’

enthusiasm, team

members of the Vision

2030 Jamaica Secretariat

(left), set the stage, then

join with students from

Mile Gully High School,

Manchester, in singing a

Culture Byte from the

Vision 2030 Jamaica

Popular Version.

Above: Students and other attendees visit the Vision 2030 Jamaica

booth, and at right: watch the Vision 2030 Jamaica Information vid-

eo during the SDC Community Month Lecture & Expo on Wednesday,

November 7, 2012, at the Porus Community Centre, Manchester.

SDC COMMUNITY MONTH REGISTRATION & OPPORTUNITY FAIR Thursday, November 29, 2012 Spanish Town, St. Catherine

The Vision 2030 Jamaica booth

mounted at the SDC Community

Month Registration & Opportunity

Fair in Spanish Town on Thursday

November 29, 2012, attracted much

attention as everyone was eager to

learn more about the Plan and what

it meant for them.

Top, left & right: Persons collect

information material

Bottom, left & right: A young girl

displays her prizes after correctly

testing her knowledge about Vision

2030 Jamaica by spinning the

“Knowledge wheel”, while the adults

at right get ready to find out how

much they know.

P ag e 1 0 VISION 2030 JAMAICA UPDATE V o l u m e 5 , I ss u e 4

Response to Tributes by the Most Hon P. J. Patterson, ON, OCC, PC, QC at the Joint

Session of Parliament, Gordon House, Tuesday, November 13, 2012.

Bite of the Quarter

What’s Happening EVENTS DATE

TWG Meetings Population

Thursday, January 17, 2013 Venue: Planning Institute of Jamaica

16 Oxford Rd., Kingston 5

Vision 2030 Jamaica Essay Competition Awards Ceremony

Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Venue: Planning Institute of Jamaica

MTF 2012-2015 Draft Review Workshop

February 2013 To Be Decided

The Development Gap Task Force for Sustainability - Healthy Lifestyle Fair

February 2, 2013 Brooks Park, Mandeville

Manchester

St. Elizabeth 4-H Club Parish Achievement Day & Exposition

Thursday, March 14, 2013 Venue: Lacovia High School

St. Elizabeth

Salute the Journey … Embrace the Vision

Breaking News!!

Vision 2030 Jamaica Information Video now

available!

Vision 2030 Jamaica Schools’ Essay Competi-

tion winners chosen Visit our website for

details!

NEXT STEPS

Thematic Working Group Meetings

Ongoing presentations to key stake-

holders on Vision 2030 Jamaica

Finalizing 1st Draft of MTF, 2012 - 2015

Vision 2030 Jamaica Update is produced by :

The Plan Development Unit

Planning Institute of Jamaica

Design & Layout: Carmen V. Miller

For more information

Contact us at:

Planning Institute of Jamaica 16 Oxford Road, Kingston 5

Tel: 935-5150; 960-9339; 906-4471/2 Email: [email protected]

Website:www.vision2030.gov.jm Facebook.com/vision2030.ja

With the conviction of age and the unwavering belief in the creative potential of the Jamaican people, I urge you as Parliamentarians to exercise your legislative powers to

drive, superintend and ensure the timely execution of Vision 2030, as the method and

pathway to achieve the status of a developed country within two decades from now.

Anchored in sound scholarship, fueled by meaningful consultations with Jamaicans at

home and abroad, Vision 2030 provides the best trajectory for self-sustaining growth

and the optimum development of our human, social and physical resources.

Once we work together, there is nothing we cannot achieve.

Documents

VISION 2030 JAMAICA UPDATE