By Caribbean News Global contributor
CASTRIES, St Lucia — The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission will host the Sustainable Development Movement (SDM) Summit under the theme: Create, Invest, Deliver, Scale — on September 23-24, 2020.
The Summit will create a space in which development partners, the private sector, civil society, academia, Caribbean governments, and individuals meet and exchange best practices and strategies concerning innovative sustainable growth and development of SIDS.
SDM 2020 is positioned to cover 12 of the 17 SDGs. Within the context of SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), it will become necessary to explore innovations necessary to stimulate business and economic growth on national, regional, and global levels given the current onslaught of COVID-19 on the economic and business ecosystems in SIDS.
In this regard, the “Business Unusual – Recalibrating Business and National Strategies for Economic Growth and Investment Creation” webinar is the second in a series being executed to create awareness about SDM 2020.
This webinar will address the following key questions:
- COVID-19 has devastated the global economy and exposed the vulnerabilities of Small Island Development States (SIDS). How do you see SIDS taking leadership in shaping a new economic agenda in the post-COVID global arena? What will the New Caribbean look like in terms of the business development and entrepreneurship ecosystem?
- COVID-19 has resulted in the greatest economic decline since 9/11. What can SIDS do to rejuvenate their economies and what are the opportunities for growth and investment that have come about as a result of the pandemic?
- The Caribbean needs to recover quickly and to become more resilient to future pandemics. What do you think investors need and what must the private sector do to rise to the occasion? What do you do when investors aren’t investing? How do you recalibrate the Nation’s brand post the catastrophic impact of COVID-19?
- If not tourism, what? What are the emerging industries that are positioned to pull the Region out of the current conundrum? What are the likely implications for the current talent pool? What will be done to ensure that our people are ready?
