CNSC Background
The coalitions and service champions of the region first came together in May 2007 at a Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI) event in Barbados. The event was a follow-up of a CARICOM initiative to assess the willingness of the region’s private sector to establish service coalitions. The objective of the conference was to raise awareness on the international service coalition movement and to share best practices. Participating organizations included the International Trade Centre, the US Coalition of Service Industries, the Canadian Coalition of Service Industries, the European Services Forum and the Uganda Service Exporters Association.
Following the first meeting of the region’s services leaders, a Memorandum of Understanding was drafted between the BCSI and the Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Service Industries (TTCSI), the only fully active coalitions at that time. It was soon after expanded to include St. Lucia, following the launch of their coalition.
The region’s champions met again at the CARICOM Services Symposium in July 2009 and drafted a new MOU which included the many coalitions that has since been launched.
CNSC
In December 2010, the regional coalition champions came together in Barbados under a Pro€Invest funded coalition-strengthening project and reaffirmed and deepened their relationship with each other through the establishment of a formalized grouping, the Caribbean Network of Service Coalitions (CNSC), a network of the existing, independent coalitions.
1st Meeting of the CNSC, December 2010
The CNSC will result in closer collaboration among the region’s service organizations in an effort to raise awareness on services issues, including joint lobbying and advocacy efforts, generate support at national and regional levels for the coalition movement and to share best practices. Ultimately, the network’s interest is in the development of the region’s services industries.
The CNSC has secured support from the German International Development Agency towards these efforts in a project that seeks to:
- Raise of awareness on services issues in the region through assistance with the development and maintenance of a CNSC website, newsletter and magazine;
- Offer technical support to fledgling coalitions with respect to best practices;
- Support the joint efforts of the CNSC.
The CNSC will be co-ordinated by the TTCSI (Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Service Industries) until December 2011, after which the co-ordination will be done on a rotational basis.
Thank you to the Caribbean Export Development Agency for the assistance leant in the development of the CNSC website and to the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for the extensive support the agency continues to lend to the CNSC network.