Project to Restore Downtown Kingston Launched

Kingston Inner City Competitiveness Initiative (KICCI), which aims to facilitate the revitalisation of communities in downtown Kingston, was officially launched today (July 23) at the Jamaica Conference Centre.
The $11,125,000 (US$125,000) project, slated to run for just under a year, will engage stakeholders, including residents, to identify areas for investment and outline a plan for restoration.
It is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Hope Road-based International University of the Caribbean (IUC), with the IUC as the executing agency.
President of the IUC, Rev. Dr. Maitland Evans, told JIS News that the initiative will develop dialogue and partnership, which will ultimately develop a new picture and a new kind of Kingston.

Young Attie Allen, a participant in the Kingston Inner-city Competitiveness Initiative (KICCI) project, draws a picture depicting images of hope for the city of Kingston during the project’s official launch at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on July 23. The KICCI project is intended to develop a social compact, which will identify potential areas for investment and outline an implementation plan for realisation of the vision of a transformed inner city.

“We have a commitment to the renewal of Kingston. The opportunity to work in this (effort) will deepen the conversation, draw out the imagination, hopes and dreams of the people in the communities, which is key to the process,” he said.
He noted that it will require the participation of all stakeholders, including communities working together “to imagine and to begin to talk about what . they can do for a process (of change)”.
Project Director, Dr. Claire Nelson, said that KICCI will enable the restoration of Kingston as a place of economic life and activity, while building social capital and dialogue.
The KICCI project is intended to develop a social compact, which will be derived through consultations with stakeholder groups and analyses of previous interventions. It will also identify potential areas for investment and outline an implementation plan for realisation of the vision of a transformed inner city.

Young Kedian Walker, a participant in the Kingston Inner-city Competitiveness Initiative (KICCI) project, shows off his picture depicting images of hope for the city of Kingston during the project’s official launch at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on July 23. The KICCI project is intended to develop a social compact, which will identify potential areas for investment and outline an implementation plan for realisation of the vision of a transformed inner city.

A social compact is an agreement among various agencies/individuals outlining agreed action and steps that the parties will take in advancing a common agenda.
The discussions will engage a wide cross section of people who reside, and do business downtown. Some of the communities include Greater Allman Town, Rose Gardens, and Fletchers Land.
The IDB is providing $8,900,000 (US$100,000) while the IUC is contributing $2,225,000 (US$25,000), towards the initiative.