CSME Holds Workshop
The CSME Unit in the Ministry of Trade held a workshop in the Belize City to sensitize key front line personnel on how to handle and tap into opportunities to share their experiences and disseminate information. The Unit brought in a consultant for the Spokespersons Workshop to equip the participants, which included media personnel, students, immigration, teachers and other partners who are active in CSME, with skills to effectively share the information. News Five spoke with Tricia Gideon who works within the CSME Unit in the Ministry of Trade.
Tricia Gideon, Trade Economist/CSME Specialist, Ministry of Trade
“The focus of today’s workshop is to educate people about the opportunities under the CSME, but more importantly for them to share it with other people. So, now we are equipping them with some skills so that they can feel confident in going out there and talking to the media and talking to different institutions about what are some of the opportunities in CARICOM.”
Andrea Polanco
“So, from talking with the partners here today, what’s the general sentiment? Is it that they don’t know the information or they don’t know where to access the information?”
Tricia Gideon
“The feeling is if they have the skills to talk about CARICOM because for many of them they feel like they don’t know enough to go out there and talk about CARICOM region. What we are trying to tell them is that they don’t have to know everything about CARICOM, but you need to know enough about how much it is affecting you. For example, if you are an exporter, talk about how many goods you export to the region. If you hold a skills certificate, talk about your experience living and working in the region.”
Andrea Polanco
“Tricia, what has the public sentiment been like? Are we seeing more people seeking information and more people tapping into the opportunities that exist within CSME?”
Tricia Gideon
“Right now what we are seeing is more people tapping into the information because initially our interaction was that people weren’t fully aware of the process in place or how to access it. So, we are aware that CARICOM exists, but how could I really benefit from it? What we are seeing is that there is an increase in the number of people who are accessing our website and more people calling the office and more people talking about. So, we are seeing it slowly increase in the awareness of CSME.”
If you’d like more information on CSME and the opportunities that exist, you can visit the Ministry of Trade and speak with Tricia Gideon in the CMSE Unit.
