Social Promotion and Protection

Caribbean Conference on Horizontal Cooperation in Social Protection

• Program: Network-Based Capacity Building on Social Protection Strategies in the Caribbean


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• International Workshop: Learning Communities: The experience of the Program Puente – Chile Solidario


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• Best Practices in Social Development
Experiences of the Social Investment funds (Only available in Spanish)

 



 


St. Michael, Barbados, January 19-20


The Organization of American States (OAS), together with the Ministry of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development of Barbados hosted the Caribbean Conference on Horizontal Cooperation in Social Protection from January 19 to 20 October 2011 in Barbados.

The meeting sought to provide an opportunity to showcase country experiences in horizontal cooperation in social protection, such as the Puente in the Caribbean Program.  It was conducted within the framework of the Inter-American Social Protection Network (IASPN) and brought together Permanent Secretaries and social policy workers from about 15 Social Development ministries and agencies from the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and the United States of America.  Characterized by a strong participation by international development agencies, the Conference provided a spacefor exploring opportunities for future cooperation initiatives in the region.



• Conference Agenda

• List of Participants

• Information Bulletin

• Photo Gallery


Panels and Presentations

Opening Ceremony

• Francis McBarnette, Director, OAS Office,Barbados

• Honorable Steven Blackett, Minister in the Ministry of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development, Barbados


Key Note Address

• “From the Puente in the Caribbean to the Inter-American Social Protection Network” Francisco Pilotti, Director, Department of Social Development and Employment, OAS


Panel 1 – Poverty and Social Policy in the Caribbean: Challenges Ahead

• Rachel Nadelman, Consultant, World Bank "Building Equality and Opportunity through Social Guarantees"

• Dr. Corin Bailey, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, UWI, Cave Hill Barbados. “Social Protection in Communities Vulnerable to Criminal Activity”

• Judith Alpuche, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Human Development and Social Transformation, Belize. “Vulnerability and Social Policy Responses: The Case of Belize”


Panel 2 – Puente in the Caribbean: Background and Implementation Experiences

• Julie Nurse, Specialist, Coordinator of Puente in the Caribbean Program, DSDE, OAS. “The OAS Puente in the Caribbean Program”

• Inshan Mohamed, National Director, Targeted Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Ministry of the People and Social Development, Trinidad & Tobago: “RISE-UP Program”

• Patricia Watts, Chief Welfare Officer (ag), Ministry of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development, Barbados: “ISEE Bridge Program”

• Patricia Diaz, Deputy Director for Program Management, Solidarity and Social Investment Fund (FOSIS), Chile: “The cooperation experience: a mutual learning opportunity”


DAY 2– January 20, 2011

Panel 3: Puente in the Caribbean: Selected Topics

• José Cisterna, Puente Program, Chile: “Registry and monitoring systems”

• Claudio Ferrada, Puente Program, Chile: “Managing Inter-institutional Networks”

• Paola Barros, Puente Program, Chile: “Educational materials in the psychosocial support process”


Panel 4: Evaluation of Social Protection Initiatives - Challenges, Results and Lessons

• James Riccio, Director Low-Wage Workers and Communities Policy Area, MDRC, New York, “Challenges in evaluating employment programs for vulnerable populations”

• Koen Rossel-Cambier, Social Development Attaché, EU Delegation for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean: “Social protection enhancement in the Eastern Caribbean: Lessons learned from EU interventions"

• Tom Olsen, UNICEF Representative, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean: “Social Safety Assessment Findings in the Caribbean”


Exhibition of Tools used by the Puente in the Caribbean Program

• Julie Nurse, Social Development Specialist DSDE, OAS. Module 1: The Puente Virtual Forum

• Julie Nurse, Social Development Specialist DSDE, OAS. Module 2: Operations Manual


Panel 5 – Promoting Cooperation in Social Protection under the IASPN

• Francisco Pilotti, Director, Department of Social Development and Employment, OAS: “Cooperation in Social Protection: A General Overview”

• Alexandra Barrantes, Social Development Specialist, Coordinator of IASPN, Department of Social Development and Employment, OAS: “International Cooperation in Social Protection: preliminary results of the Brasilia event”

• Fernando Sánchez Prada, National Coordinator of the Institutional Strengthening for the Family in Action Program, Presidential Agency for the Social Action and International Cooperation, Social Action. “The Case of Colombia”

• Blanca Lilia García, Director International Coordination, Secretariat for Social Development, SEDESOL. “The Case of México”


Press

• OAS Press Department

• The Barbados Advocate