The Trust for the Americas and the Organization of American States presents lessons learnt in Promoting an Open Government Ecosystem in Belize
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.
About The Trust for the Americas:
The Trust for the Americas is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mission is to promote alliances for economic and social inclusion in the Americas. Established in 1997, The Trust was created for the participation of the public sector, the private sector, and civil society initiatives in social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The organization's initiatives improve communities' access to economic opportunities, better citizen security, and opportunities for democratic expression and governance. The Trust for the Americas provides local partner organizations with training tools, services, products and technical assistance to better serve vulnerable communities in the region. Visit: www.trustfortheamericas.org
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