7 News Belize

Restore Belize Strategic Planning
posted (January 10, 2011)
Restore Belize is preparing a 5 year strategic plan and today invited key stakeholders to consult with Adele Catzim-Sanchez and Dr. Herbert Gayle whose comprehensive study on violence in Belize will inform the strategy.

He's the co-facillitator in discussions being held this week focussing on Education & Human Development along with Security & Governance. Programme Director of Restore Belize, Marydelene Vasquez, told us more:

Marydelene Vasquez, Director - Restore Belize
"This week we have two workshops being held, they are two - two day workshops, the first one which is starting today deals with human development and education and the second one which is starting on Wednesday deals with security and governance and at these workshops we will examine those very huge issues, those very huge topics and specifically in light of the Gayle research and in light of the other studies which I have mention and because we have so many sectors represented and because we have people working both at the decision making and at the practitioners levels. We believe that we'll be able to put together strategies for how best to collaborate and coordinate our resources to ensure that we are effectively addressing the issues of crime."

Dr. Herbert Gayle, Violence Anthropologist
"The idea is to come up with a set of durable objectives and a plan to achieve those objectives. So we can't preempt what it is for certain is that we won't be re-inventing the wheel, we don't do anything re-inventive. It's about harnessing what people know already, what already on the ground which is why we begin with a situation analysis as to what exactly is happening now. What have been done already because this research started close to 2 years now and a lot has been done concurrently and even without our work, our input, so we need to know what has been done, where we are at so we can know the resources we have and the resources that are missing and we can make plan for those that are missing to put in place this thing because it's not about rhetoric, it's about action, it's about getting these things so we can change the landscape for young people so that they have a better place to grow up in and have a wider range of options other guns and frustration."

Adele Catzim-Sanchez, Consultant - Restore Belize
"What is different about this research is that it brings together all the various elements of issues, all the different issues that impact crime and violence. Past research has focus on maybe one or two different element. This brings it together, it's a very cohesive research and it can help to guide us in terms of the way forward to look at things differently this time."

The planning exercise is being funded by UNICEF.








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