Washington, D.C. (June 17, 2019) – The Trust for the Americas and the Organization of American States (OAS) have worked hand in hand in Belize with the government, civil society and the private sector, under grant funding from the Embassy of the United States of America in Belmopan, towards the strengthening of central and local governments in support of advancing democracy and governance efforts through civil society engagement.
Over 18 months, the “Promoting an Open Government ecosystem in Belize” project was able to conduct capacity building training for Belizeans from various sectors through seminars, workshops and roundtable activities. This training stimulated the creation of small government/civil society coalitions for the development of 7 hackathon solutions and 8 innovative projects through the sub-grant’s incubator. Today, Belize has ongoing open government initiatives well underway. Additionally, the project accomplished the insertion of the country at the regional level by joining 7 other countries in the pursue of open government through the Development the Caribbean (DevCa) initiative; coordinated by the Caribbean Open Institute (COI) in Jamaica. DevCa takes place simultaneously in seven Caribbean countries as a leading platform for the discussion on how technology and data impact national development.
Finally, as the advancement of democratic governance goes hand by hand with economic development, the project also focused on strengthening the dialogue about how the Belizean private sector could harness the economic value of Open Data. Through a series of activities, the Trust, the OAS and the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) collaborated to bridge Open Data and business opportunities by launching a dialogue to find answers as to ensure a collaborative approach to unlock the economic potential of Open Data in the country, most notably within Belize’s tourism sector.
The opening of the event will be in charge of The Trust for the Americas CEO, Linda Eddleman and representatives of both the private and the public sector. Eight sub-grantees will present their journeys as solution developers within their communities.
“The Trust for the Americas is committed to keep working towards innovative approaches to transform the reality of your communities. Increased knowledge sharing, collaboration and engaged citizens will lead to better policies, better dialogues, decisions and service delivery” stated Linda Eddleman, CEO of the Trust for the Americas.
Sobre o The Trust for the Americas:
A Trust para as Américas é uma organização sem fins lucrativos afiliada à Organização dos Estados Americanos (OEA), cuja missão é promover alianças para a inclusão econômica e social nas Américas. Fundada em 1997, a Trust foi criada para promover a participação do setor público, do setor privado e de iniciativas da sociedade civil no desenvolvimento social e econômico da América Latina e do Caribe. As iniciativas da organização melhoram o acesso das comunidades a oportunidades econômicas, aumentam a segurança dos cidadãos e promovem oportunidades de expressão democrática e governança. A Trust para as Américas fornece às organizações parceiras locais ferramentas de capacitação, serviços, produtos e assistência técnica para atender melhor às comunidades vulneráveis da região. Acesse: www.trustfortheamericas.org
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