The Gozo NGOs Association has welcomed the decision taken by the Gozo Regional Committee (GRC) to set up a Task Force, with the specific remit to draw up a holistic Post Covid-19 Strategy for Gozo.
The Association in a statement said that “in drawing the said strategy, the Task Force would need to take all the necessary steps to ensure, that besides being holistic strategy, it would need to be as visionary as possible.”
The Association pointed out that it would “be a strategy that would be able to merge and synergise the aspirations of the whole Gozitan society. So making the island regions of Gozo better equipped to meet the new challenges of the new Covid-19 reality.”
The decision, to set up Task force was taken during a virtual (online) committee meeting of the Gozo Regional Committee, held on Thursday.
The Gozo NGOs Association, which represents the voluntary and non-governmental organisations sector on the GRC, said that it was proud that this proposal was put forward by Dr. Sean Zammit, who is one of the Association’s member delegates sitting on the Regional Committee.
Whilst auguring that the operationalisation of the ‘Task Force’ commences in the shortest time possible, the Association stressed that it expects the ‘Task Force’ to be provided with sufficient time in the drawing-up process of the strategy to allow for the widest possible consultation.
It also highlighted the need for the active participation (based on constructive dialogue) of all stakeholders to enable all voices to be heard “fairly and justly.”
The Gozo NGOs Association said that it also expects that this ‘Task Force,’ the Gozo Regional Committee, as well as various other actors within the latter committee, are given the “necessary means and resources to enable the design of a shared and widely owned visionary strategy.”
In this sense, the Gozo NGOs Association explained that it will launch a dynamic consultation process with all its various members (VOs and NGOs) to present their view of how they see the development of the voluntary sector in Gozo, a sector that plays a major role in the economic, cultural and social development of the island region of Gozo.
Apart from Dr. Zammit, the delegation of the Gozo NGOs Association, in the aforementioned GRC meeting, included also Mr. Saviour Grech (President of the Gozo NGOs Association), Mr. Noel Xerri and Mr. Giovanni Zammit.
Photo by Mario Xerri