(PRESS RELEASE) – The Ministry of Finance has planned a one-day meeting to be held on Friday November 2, 2018, to discuss the redevelopment of Castries and review the existing National Vision Plan for Castries, adopted a decade ago.
The Meeting, dubbed the Castries Urban Forum (CUF) is the first of its kind, and is expected to become an established event to be rotated on a systematic basis.
An estimated 60 persons are expected to attend the Forum, which dovetails a series of smaller focus group meetings that were held in the month of October by the Ministry’s National Integrating Implementation Planning Unit (NIPP).
The one-day Forum, which will be hosted jointly with UNOPS, is expected to be modelled on the same principle of the United Nations (UN) Urban Forums of being ‘an inclusive highly participatory’ event for exchanging views and experiences on urban challenges.
NIPP and its development partner UNOPS – have indicated that so far over 60 individuals have already been met on the island, individually and in focus groups, for the purposes of consultation and brainstorming on a new Vision for Castries under the broad themes of “Housing, Social and Urban Services; Natural Environment and Climate Change; Culture, Heritage and Religion; Urban and Rural Economy; and Built Environment and Infrastructure”.
Friday’s Forum will discuss the same themes, except ‘through an integrated and strategic lens’. “This is the place where partnerships can emerge to codevelop and implement the new vision for Castries”, the Officials stated.
During the Forum, the Ministry officials and their partnering UN agencies hope to collect additional data and key notes that will be essential for informing the Castries 2030 Vision.
The Castries redevelopment initiative is being spearheaded by a Project Planning Team, which reports to a Project Steering Committee comprising Permanent Secretaries from relevant Ministries of government. The aim is to deliver a draft Vision by the end of 2018, with a roadmap for implementation starting next year.
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