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The Canadian Government-funded, Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean (IMPACT Justice) Project is bringing its community mediation training programme to Guyana in a bid to build capacity for community mediation services in the region.IMPACT Justice is a five-year regional justice sector reform project which is being implemented from within the Caribbean Law Institute Centre, UWI, Cave Hill Campus.Two 40-hour workshops are taking place simultaneously from October 10 to October 14. One is for officers of the Ministry of Social Protection at the Guyana Marriott Hotel and another for police officers at the Duke Lodge Hotel. Both sessions will commence with an Opening Ceremony at 8.30 a.m.Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence is scheduled to address the session for officers of the Ministry of Social Protection,Cheap NHL Jerseys China, while Acting Commissioner of Police, David Ramnarine,NFL Jerseys China, will deliver remarks at the workshop for police officers.Since the commencement of the project in April 2014, IMPACT Justice has facilitated mediation training in Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Two more sessions are scheduled for Guyana for October 31 to November 4.In a recent discussion about a similar project, Canada’s High Commissioner to Guyana, Pierre Giroux, expressed satisfaction with the progress of the ‘Strengthen the Criminal Justice System in Guyana’ project. He observed that the venture has aided the police in solving several high profile cases.The project was launched last year. High Commissioner Giroux noted that the holistic approach to justice sector reform which has proven tremendously successful in Central America and,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, is only halfway through in Guyana,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, has already helped the Guyana Police Force.He said that this success is largely due to two key elements— the unique Justice Education Society of British Columbia (JES) methodology which is inclusive, practice-based and includes rigorous mentoring,Cheap Jerseys From China, and the full support given by the Government and recipients.The High Commissioner also stated that the timing of the project was fortuitous as the Coalition government came into power with a platform of change and security sector reform was a high priority.The success rate, to date, has surpassed most other countries where JES has conducted similar work. “Most places in the world would still be at the information stage now, but in Guyana we are quite advanced and this is due to cooperation among all stakeholders,” he noted.High Commissioner Giroux cautioned that sustainability planning is crucial to long term success. He likened the endeavour to a marathon.There is no “silver bullet” when it comes to justice sector reform, he said. The process will be long and will require great coordination of effort on the part of the donor community.He noted, too, that the donor community in Guyana works together quite closely to harmonise their programming and priorities and they have recognised that the JES methodology gets results.August 2016 marked one year of JES on the ground in Guyana and the midpoint of the Canada-funded project which was approved in early 2015 following a successful application by the JES to Canada’s Anti-Crime Capacity Building Programme (ACCBP).The project, valued at CDN $750,Wholesale Jerseys USA,000 (GYD $106 million), is Canada’s largest bilateral project with Guyana. |
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