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Sunday, 26 January 2014 19:35

Belize fishermen receive ICT tools to bolster networking capacity

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(left) CRFM Executive Director Milton Haughton, (right) BFCA Chairman Pedro Alvarez (left) CRFM Executive Director Milton Haughton, (right) BFCA Chairman Pedro Alvarez CRFM

 

Friday, January 24, 2014; Belize City—As a part of a region-wide initiative to better position fishers to participate in decision-making, the Belize Fishermen Cooperative Association (BFCA) was this week presented with a Sony laptop computer and accessories, as well as important fisheries publications.
 
The presentation was made by Milton Haughton, Executive Director of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), who said that this was one of the final outputs of a project being jointly executed by the CRFM and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).
 
Haughton said that the donation was being made to ensure that the BFCA is able to continue the work of exchanging information and improve interacting with their colleagues across the region and in Belize.
 
“Information sharing, the use of information technology, that's the way to go! And we're hoping that through the new website (for the Caribbean network of fisherfolk organisations) that was developed with funding under this project, with this hardware that you now have, and with training and sensitization that have been provided to representatives from fisherfolk organizations in various ICT tools, that this will go a long way in strengthening the interaction as well as the governance arrangements and your ability to participate in decision-making processes locally, nationally as well as regionally,” he added.


 
Receiving the donation on behalf of the BFCA was its chairman, Pedro Alvarez, who expressed his gratitude and asserted that the donation will be very valuable to the organization and to the fisherfolk of Belize, especially as they prepare to embark on local training programs.
 
The project titled Implementing the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy: Positioning and engaging fisherfolk organizations, being implemented in partnership with the CRFM, the CTA and the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations (CNFO), aims to improve the quality of life of fisherfolk and nutrition in the CRFM-CARIFORUM region, as well as facilitate better engagement for the implementation of key regional policies.
 
Apart from receiving the computer hardware and software, the BCFA also received a series of policy and information documents relevant to national and regional fisheries issues, such as the adoption of the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy, which the region is expected to conclude at the next meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government in February this year.
 
 

 

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