MIND Stages Annual Public Lecture On Thursday

Members of the public and the media are being urged to come out in their numbers for the Management Institute for National Development’s (MIND) 17th annual public lecture on Thursday (Aug. 19).

The event will be held at the institution’s main campus at 253A Old Hope Road, Kingston 6, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Under the theme: ‘Vision 2030 National Development Plan: Pipe Dream or Viable Vision’, newly appointed Director General at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson, will lead a rigorous discussion on Jamaica’s prospects of becoming a developed nation by the year 2030.

“When we say Vision 2030 and ask ‘pipe dream or viable vision’, what MIND is in fact doing is launching the discussion and we hope that all the stakeholders and interest groups, with the full support of the mass media, will take it on, because every opportunity must be given for Vision 2030 to be clearly articulated,” said Director of Business Development and Communications at MIND.

Addressing a Think Tank held yesterday (Aug.16) at JIS’ Half-Way-Tree Road headquarters, Ms. Salmon contended that public discussion on the Vision 2030 National Development Plan is essential in helping the public to better understand the different elements of the plan and how they can become active participants in the process of actualizing it.

“We are hoping that when the public comes out and the media takes the story further and expand on the vision, it will cause more people to weigh in on it and in doing so, recommit themselves to the process of making it a viable vision,” she said.

Jamaica is in the first phase of implementing the Vision 2030 Jamaica – National Development Plan, which was conceptualised with the aim of making “Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business” by the year 2030.

The plan is being implemented through seven consecutive three-year Medium Term Socio-Economic Policy Frameworks (MTF), which are prioritised packages of policies, strategies and programmes proposed by the Government for implementation over a 20 year period to 2030.

The first MTF, which covers the period 2009 – 2012, details key strategies and actions for six of the 15 National Outcomes for Vision 2030 Jamaica, namely Security and Safety; A Stable Macro-economy; Strong Economic Infrastructure; Energy Security and Efficiency; World Class Education and Training; and Effective Governance.

The annual MIND public lecture series serves as a forum to stimulate public awareness on issues of national, regional and global importance. Each year, MIND invites a distinguished person to lead a discussion that facilitates the exchange of information that will result in improved quality of thought and response to national issues.

Past lectures include: ‘Violence Prevention: A Community Response’ by University of the West Indies (UWI) Professor Barry Chevannes; ‘The Caribbean Court of Justice – Who Stands To Gain’ by Judge, Caribbean Court of Justice, Duke Pollard; ‘The Effects of Globalisation on Jamaica’s Development: With Specific Reference to the World Trade Organisation’ by former head of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery, Ambassador Richard Bernal; and ‘The Tension Between Competition Law and Trade Law: Are There Any Winners?’ by United State Federal Trade Commissioner, Thomas B. Leary.

This year’s lecture is being presented in honour of distinguished public servant of over 36 years (now retired) and outstanding MIND management and leadership facilitator and author, John Tracey.