SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG--The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports (ECYS) has started a strategic planning process to re-define its long term ambitions in order to remain responsive to the environment in which it operates, a press release said on Wednesday.

ECYS Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs wants to develop a 10-year (2016-2026) Strategic Plan for the Ministry with operational procedures for the policy areas of education, culture, youth and sports.

The first step in the development of the document was a strategic kick-off session to align and synchronise the ideas of the 70 key stakeholders who were present.

The first strategic session, called "The future through your eyes," challenged the stakeholders to think outside of the box and in terms of collaboration both within and outside of the Ministry. "The main assignment was to visualize and define the competencies that our future generations should have, to thrive in the St. Maarten of 2026," the release said. "Creativity, adaptability, critical thinking, resilience, and interpersonal skills, were some of the most important competencies that were identified."

The stakeholders were asked to determine the main priorities for the four policy areas in the coming 10 years and participants indicated critical subjects that they consider missing in the four policy departments being Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, the release said.

In their opening statements Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, ECYS Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs and Secretary-General Jorien Wuite said this effort should start at the foundation.

"All Ministries are directly affected by the decisions of the Ministry of ECYS. Therefore, it is time that we recognise the central role of education, culture, youth and sports in regards to their impact on the socio-economic development of our Country," the release said.

"Lifelong-learning, the enforcement of our cultural identity, and increased participation in sports, are only some examples of the most important priorities identified by the group. To achieve these, we have to let go of traditional thinking patterns and find creative ways of working together for the growth of St Maarten," Bourne-Gumbs was quoted as saying in the release.

KPMG Advisory Services, which had been selected to guide the process, shared some predictions what the world could look like in 2026. Trends and developments in terms of technology and interconnectedness were shared with the intention to trigger the thoughts of all stakeholders.

"The output of this initiative will result in a holistic strategic plan that is aligned with all four policy domains of the Ministry of ECYS and developments in the environment in which they operate such as schools, sports organisations, cultural foundations and youth organizations." The end product is expected to be completed in September of 2015.