Day 1 – September 11, 2008
8:30 – 9:30 Opening Ceremony
· Welcome: Mrs. Antonia Popplewell, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development, Trinidad and Tobago
· Ambassador Jose Gabriel Zepeda, Ambassador of Chile to Trinidad and Tobago
· Ambassador Alfonso Quiñonez, Executive Secretary, Executive Secretariat for Integral Development, OAS
· Mr. Pablo Coloma, Executive Director, Solidarity and Social Investment Fund, Chile
· Dr. the Honorable Amery Browne, Minister in the Ministry of Social Development, Trinidad and Tobago
9:30 – 10:45 Registration of Participants and Break
10:45 – 11:15 Framing the Conference: “The OAS approach to Horizontal Cooperation in Social Protection”
Francisco Pilotti, Director, Department of Social Development and Employment, OAS
11:15 – 12:45 Panel 1 - Poverty in the Caribbean: Institutional Challenges and Opportunities for Inter-American Cooperation
This session serves to provide the necessary backdrop to the issues that will be considered in the Conference. It will examine the realities of poverty in the Caribbean and explore the ways in which the problem has been tackled institutionally and programmatically. It will also expose the example of the Chilean experience in addressing poverty and the results obtained to date, thus highlighting the potential for sharing experiences in the fight against poverty.
Moderator: Dr. Dennis Brown, Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI, Trinidad & Tobago
Panelists (15 minutes each)
· Ms. Karoline Schmid, Social Affairs Officer, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Sub-regional Headquarters for the Caribbean: “The State of social development and poverty reduction in the Caribbean”
· Mr. Ezra Jn. Baptiste, Head, Social Policy Unit, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States: “Institutionalization of Social Policy in the Caribbean”
· Mr. Pablo Coloma, Executive Director, Solidarity and Social Investment Fund (FOSIS), Chile. “Social Protection in Chile: The Chile Solidario Program”
Q&A Session
12:45 - 2:15 LUNCH
2:15 –3:15 Panel 2 - Puente in the Caribbean I: Background and strategies
This session will provide some reflection on the Puente in the Caribbean Pilot Program from the perspective of the coordinating institutions, namely the OAS and FOSIS. It will present the basic principles and operations of the Puente Program in Chile and highlight the strategies employed in the transference of the program. This will include the challenges faced, results obtained in the context of the Caribbean reality and roles played by the various institutions.
Moderator: Mrs. Antonia Popplewell, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development, Trinidad and Tobago
Panelists (15 minutes each)
· Francisca Rivero Garay, National Coordinator, FOSIS, Chile. “What is the Puente Program?”
· Julie Nurse, Specialist, DSDE, OAS. “Progress Report on the Puente in the Caribbean Program
Q&A Session
3:15 – 3:30 BREAK
3:30 – 5:00 Puente in the Caribbean II: Implementation Experiences and Challenges
Based on the results of an evaluation workshop held prior to the Conference, this session will involve an open discussion with the technical officers of the program. The Chilean Tutors as well as the Caribbean officers will identify some of the central issues involved in the implementation of the horizontal cooperation program, including areas such as monitoring and evaluation, psychosocial support to families, design of materials utilized in the Puente Program, and the broad cultural and communication challenges posed by this experience.
Moderator: Heather Ricketts, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
· Peta Gay Pryce, Representative, Country Team, Jamaica
· Juliana Alfred, Representative, Country Team, St. Lucia
· Vijay Gangapersad, Representative, Country Team, Trinidad & Tobago
· Jorge Madariaga, FOSIS Chile
8:00 A cultural evening and dinner, hosted by Dr. the Hon. Amery Browne, Minister for Social Development, Trinidad and Tobago
Venue: Jaffa at the Oval (Transportation will be provided)
Day 2 – September 12, 2008
9:00 – 9:15 “Social development in the Caribbean: The World Bank Perspective”
Mr. Estanislao Gacitúa Mario, Principal Social Development Specialist, World Bank
9:15 – 9:30 Q&A session
9:30 – 10:45 Panel 3 - Puente in the Caribbean III: Partners’ Perspectives and Future OAS Programming
In this panel, authorities of the participating Caribbean institutions will share the political, institutional and budgetary challenges involved in the application and sustainability of new approaches to social protection and poverty reduction. Their experiences on the implementation of the pilot program, the results obtained in the execution of their respective work plans, the challenges faced and the institutional demands of the program will be highlighted. This will provide a background for the discussion on the future programming with new Caribbean countries as it will allow other Caribbean countries who are interested in the program to reflect on the processes and commitments involved.
Moderator: Rosana Martinelli, Specialist, DSDE, OAS
Panelists (15 minutes each)
· Mrs. Scarlette Gillings CD, Managing Director, Jamaica Social Investment Fund, Jamaica
· Mr. Joachim Henry, Executive Director, Poverty Reduction Fund, St. Lucia
· Mr. Terrence Jurawan, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development, Trinidad and Tobago,
· Dr. Julie Meeks Gardner, UWI Child Development Center, Jamaica. “The Puente Program in the Caribbean: A Preliminary Assessment”
· Francisco Pilotti, Director, Department of Social Development and Employment, OAS: “Future OAS Programming”
10:45 – 11:15 Q&A Session: open discussion and feedback from other Caribbean countries
11:15 – 11:30 BREAK
11:30 – 11:45 Closing Ceremony
· Dr. Riyad Insanally, Representative, OAS Office, Trinidad and Tobago
· Mr. Pablo Coloma, Executive Director, Solidarity and Social Investment Fund (FOSIS), Chile.
· Mrs. Antonia Popplewell, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development, Trinidad and Tobago
12:00 – 1:30 LUNCH
7:00 Cocktail Reception hosted by Ambassador Gabriel Zepeda, Ambassador of Chile to Trinidad and Tobago
Venue: Ambassador’s Residence, 3 Ellerslie Park, Saint Clair (Transportation will be provided)