Dominicans are now far more knowledgeable about their rights and responsibilities regarding the provisions for free movement within the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). This is due to a successful public sensitization session hosted by the CARICOM Secretariat on Friday, September 9 at the Goodwill Christian Union Church. Just over seventy (70) persons representing a wide cross-section of the Dominican public attended the activity which was also broadcast live by the Government Information Service, Kairi FM and Marpin 2K4 Ltd. The event in Dominica is the first of three (3) such sessions being implemented by the Secretariat with assistance provided under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). The other two (2) sessions will be held later in Guyana and Jamaica.

The CARICOM Secretariat is pressing ahead with its public education programme regarding the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). It will be hosting a series of three (3) public sensitisation sessions on the facilitation of travel within the CSME. The first of these will be held in Dominica on Friday, September 9 and a wide cross-section of the public is expected to attend. These sessions are being facilitated by resource persons from the Secretariat and implemented with assistance provided under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). The other two (2) sessions will be held later in Guyana and Jamaica.

The public sensitization exercise will cover the provisions for free movement and travel under the CSME regimes such as those for CARICOM Skilled Nationals and the Right of Establishment, for example. The aim is to inform CARICOM citizens of their rights and responsibilities as they move within the CSME for reasons related to employment, leisure or business. Members of the public will also be apprised of the CARICOM Complaints Procedure if they feel that they were hindered from accessing their rights under any of the regimes. At the end of these sessions, participants should be better informed about the provisions for free movement and how to make use of them as CARICOM nationals.

The session will be held at the Goodwill Christian Union Church and officials from Dominica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be in attendance. This public awareness activity is part of a larger public education strategy to promote the CSME as an important platform for achieving the goal of regional integration and an improved quality of life for all citizens of the Caribbean Community.   

Download Press Release here.

The Ministry of Trade is continuing its activities towards putting a legislative framework in place for consumer protection.

At a press conference on Monday, October 19th Director of Trade, Mathan Walter announced the latest is a series of three workshops related to consumer protection matters which gets underway this week.

He says the thrust of the Ministry is to ensure that consumers in Dominica benefit from robust protection laws.

“[We] believe that the word consumer should be equated with citizen and that consumer protection law should be regarded as an aspect of civic rights,” Walter said.

Three workshops have been organized; the first began on Monday October 19th and will end on the 20th. It focused on consumer protection law and policy.

Original Article here: http://www.news.gov.dm/index.php/news/3029-work-continues-on-consumer-protection-bill

"community must take rightful place in int’l trade blocs"

The CARICOM Secretariat, via the CSME Unit, is currently executing the project Students Engaging the CSME through Field Promotion.  

This project entails training youths to identify and develop responses to CSME opportunities.

The objective is to engage the next generation in identifying career possibilities with regard to wage employment, self-employment and starting a business in the CSME.  

This project was first initiated in 2008 and lasted until 2009, with the assistance of the 9^th European Development Fund (EDF) Caribbean Integration Support Programme (CISP). Some two hundred and eight three CARICOM university and college students were mobilized and trained in the field, on how to identify and develop a response to CSME opportunities.

For 2015, the objective of this project is to engage the next generation in identifying career opportunities in the field with regard to wage employment, self employment and starting a business within the CSME.   The project is an activity of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat CSME Public Education Programme facilitated with the 10^th EDF CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Economic Integration Programme (EIP). A series of engagements will be arranged, inter alia, with the Ministries/ Departments responsible for Labour, Commerce, and Immigration and for the local issuing of CARICOM Skills Certificates. In addition, companies such as the local stock exchange, the central bank, a regional service company and a large regional financial institution will also be visited and their senior personnel engaged in discussion.

For this phase of the 2015 Student Missions, a lecturer and a CARICOM Youth Ambassador (CYA) will accompany the students in addition to the Focal Point of the sending country and CARICOM Secretariat staff. Ideally, the lecturer will be responsible for Caribbean Studies from one of the institutions the students attend, while the CYA will be chosen by the Member State.

Creole speaking Dominicans, as well as Haitians residing in that CARICOM Member State got their chance on Thursday February 27th, 2015, to learn about the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and the five regimes which facilitate its operation as a single marketspace.

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