Background

About the Community Development Partnership Forum (CDPF)

In 2012, the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago gave approval for the biennial hosting of a forum on Community Development, called the Community Development Partnership Forum (CDPF).  CDPF is a knowledge building platform for practitioners in the community development sector. The forum aims to strengthen the process of community development and contribute to building sustainable communities.  The Forum targets community development practitioners, professionals, civil society workers, volunteers and academics and seeks to create a space for this community – both locally and abroad - to share knowledge, best practices, models and solutions, and networks so as to maximise the impact on community development. 


Along with the establishment of the CDPF as a biennial conference on the calendar of the Ministry with responsibility for Community Development, the Government also agreed to the annual commemoration of July 5 as Community Development Day.  This would provide an opportunity to give recognition to individuals, community groups and other CSOs, that have made significant contributions to community development.


The initial objectives of the CDPF were:

  • To present an opportunity for networking and partnership arrangements among a wide and diverse group of persons and institutions concerned with and/or involved in local/community-based development including social, economic and environmental management and development
  • To promote a holistic and integrated approach to community development across various policy framework and programmes
  • To support community development practitioners and to encourage information and practice exchange
  • To expose the region to new and relevant best practices, technologies and other goods and services to allow for sustainable community development
  • To provide a national/regional forum for presenting and discussing issues related to Small Island Developing States.
  • To act as a national/regional arena for bringing together key Caribbean and international stakeholders in the public and private sectors in relation to Community Development.
  • To focus public attention on key Sustainable Development Goals that are likely impact on local/community-based development.
  • To present a forum for professionalising Community Development Work
  • To highlight the successful collaborative interventions of the Ministry of Community Development.

The first Community Development Partnership Forum was held in July 2013. The ensuing sections detail the history of hosting of CDPF from 2013-2019.  CDPF was due to be held in 2021 but was postponed due to complications relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic.  CDPF-V will be held over the period 24th-26th January, 2022.


CDPF-I

Theme: The theme of CDPF I was “Building a Community” 3rd – 5th July, 2013, Trinidad Hilton and Conference Centre.


Background

Conceptualised in 2012, its main purpose was to document and validate the work of the then Ministry of Community Development (MCD), whilst creating the possibilities for new approaches to Community Development from that point onward. At the time of conception, the GORTT was focused on its achievements over the last 50yrs since Independence in 1962. It was felt that this was an opportune time for a long standing agency such as the Community Development Division, which was established in 1959 to:


  • Examine the various partnerships and collaborations that had taken place between the MCD in all its various alliances over the past five decades.
  • Evaluate the work of the MCD to decide its relevance to community and other agencies.
  • Develop new concepts for Community Development bearing in mind the changing community environment both locally and internationally.
  • Create a platform for MCD to regularly showcase its accomplishments within the context of professional and academic spheres.
  • Create sovereignty and brand CDPF as an initiative coming out of GORTT.

In the International context, CDPF-I was chosen as the catalyst for GORTT to gain recognition as the regional authority on Community Development. To add further impact and significance to the work of the Community Development Division.


CDPF-II

Theme: The theme of CDPFII was “Community Based Entrepreneurship & Innovation: A strategy for Small Island Developing States (SIDs)” 3rd – 5th July, 2015, held at the Trinidad Hilton and Conference Centre.


Background

The overall purpose of the CDPF II was similar to that of CDPF I, to advance the state of the art in community development through networking and partnership arrangements among a wide and diverse group of persons and institutions at the local, community, national, regional and international levels, concerned with and/or involved in local/community-based sustainable development.


The rationale for CDPF II, took a further step to validate the commemoration of Community Development Day as declared in 2013, at CDPF I. 2014 was declared the International Year of SIDS, therefore Community Development Day and the CDPF-II were aligned to the Year of SIDS, providing an international focus that was intended to attract greater international participation.


CDPF II also included other unique features that contributed significantly to the entire event in 2015.  These were, the Community Heroes Award and the involvement of regional Ministers with responsibility for community development. The Community Heroes Award introduced that opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements of unsung Heroes in Community Development. These heroes were individuals and organisations who had made meaningful contributions and a tangible difference toward building sustainable and resilient communities and had selflessly contributed to bringing people together to positively impact their local communities.


The overall Goal of the Community Heroes’ Award was to give recognition to individuals, community groups and other civil society organisations that have made selfless, significant, notable and laudable contributions to community development thereby contributing to nation building over the past years.


The other highlight of CDPF-II was the active participation of seven Ministers with responsibility for Community Development in the Forum and their agreement in principle to broad areas of action towards the sustainable development of small island developing states.  The participating countries included:


  • Grenada,
  • Jamaica,
  • St. Vincent,
  • Antigua and Barbuda,
  • St. Lucia,
  • Barbados,
  • Nevis

The objectives of the CDPF-II were:

  • To provide an arena for bringing together key Caribbean and international stakeholders in the public and private sectors, the youth, civil society groups, the media, academia, researchers, experts, donor and development agencies, technical agencies and institutions, among others, to discuss issues and share experiences related to local/community-based development;
  • To expose the region to new and relevant best practices, technologies and other goods and services to allow for sustainable community development through the Community-Based Entrepreneurship;
  • To provide a national/regional forum for presenting and discussing issues related to Small Island Developing States as they relate to building resilient communities: “Think Global, Act Local”;
  • To provide an opportunity for community development practitioners to update/enhance their knowledge in community development;
  • To give recognition to individuals, community groups and other civil society organisations that have made significant contributions to community development and nation building the past years.

CDPF-III

Theme: Building Resilient and Culturally Rich Communities Through Collective Effort, 7th, 19th July and 9th August at Community Facilities in North, Central and South Trinidad.


Background:

CDPF-II, provided the impetus for a National Policy on Community Development for Trinidad and Tobago.  In September 2016, the then Ministry of Community Development commenced work of the formulation of the community development Policy, beginning with a situational analysis of community development sector.  By the end of situational analysis in March 2017, key principles and strategies for the National Policy had begun to emerge. These principles are strategies informed further dialogue with public and corporate sector stakeholders further providing direction for a National Policy.  It would then be necessary to engage more broadly with two key constituents of the community development sector, namely, the staff of the Community Development Division and other Ministries which work directly with communities and the community based organisations who work in the trenches.


The CDPF seemed to provide an excellent forum for such a consultative opportunity.  Accordingly, the forum in 2017 pursued stakeholder engagement on the National Policy on Community Development.   Through this iteration of the Forum, staff of the Community Development Division, community-based organisations and government agencies which provide community services were assembled as key experts with the following goals and objectives. 


Goal:

  • To contribute to building resilient communities, through transforming the process of community development using evidence based principles and approaches and effective public private community partnerships and strategies.
  • To develop a robust National Community Development Policy (NCDP) enriched by the views and perspectives of citizens.

Objectives:

  • To consider the current state of communities in Trinidad
  • To envision ideal communities in Trinidad in the context of sustainable community development and the role of civil society in achieving that vision
  • To discuss the key items proposed for inclusion in the Policy:

CDPF-III was held over three days – July 7th and 19th and August 9th, 2017 - and was hosted at venues in the North, Central and South Trinidad with a view to reaching a wide cross section of stakeholders.  This forum significantly shaped the National Policy on Sustainable Community Development which was laid in Parliament as Government Policy in November 2019.


CDPF-IV

Theme: The Creative Sector: A Pathway to Sustainable Community Development, held in four communities in East (2), Central and South Trinidad during CARIFESTA XIV, August 16-25, 2019.


Background:

Trinidad and Tobago had the honour of hosting CARIFESTA XIV in 2019.  At that time, the responsibility for community development was located in the Ministry of Community Development Culture and the Arts (a title and arrangement it acquired after national elections in December 2015).  An integral part of CARIFESTA XIV, was the CARIFESTA XIV Symposia themed “Journey Round Myself: Crossing Borders, Strengthening Connections, and Breaking Boundaries.”  The symposia aimed to examine the variety of contexts in which art practitioners, researchers, creative entrepreneurs, artist managers, funders and policy makers operate through the interrogation, and facilitation of presentations, in the form of papers, posters, showcases, workshops or master classes, on a number of themes relevant to the cultural sector.


As part of the Symposium element of CARIFESTA XIV, CDPF IV was designed to pay particular attention to the creative sector as it impacts communities as a pathway to sustainable community development. It therefore brought together creatives from various communities and across the Caribbean to exchange ideas, innovations and explore in a practical way the notion of sustainable livelihoods for the artists and transforming communities using local assets, culture and the arts by focusing on the following themes:


  • Arts and Communities
  • Cultural and Creative Industries
  • Creative Cities and Communities-
  • Cultural Heritage and Policy Management

These themes were pursued in the context of community based approaches to strengthening, managing and further monetising the following sectors:


  • Cocoa and Coffee Sectors
  • Handicraft
  • Community Tourism and
  • Heritage (local cuisine)

The Goals of CDPF-IV were therefore:

  • To provide a platform for the exploration of ideas, recommendations, and models by creatives for the development/strengthening of viable creative sectors within communities, focused on the Handicraft, Cocoa and Coffee, Community Tourism and Heritage Sectors
  • To provide an opportunity for strengthening productive synergies, networks and partnership arrangements for economic development, among a diverse group of persons and institutions at the local, community, national and regional levels.

Objectives:

  • To sensitise stakeholders on the potential of the creative sector to drive sustainable community development
  • To explore and investigate practical processes and models that focus on creative business growth as strategies to promote economic development in communities. 
  • To equip creative entrepreneurs with the relevant knowledge  for strategic management of creative businesses
  • To encourage the establishment, and monetisation of creative hubs within communities
  • To strengthen capacity for marketing and distribution of products within and outside communities

CDPF-IV has made an indelible contribution to both the intrinsic and extrinsic value of the cultural sector and to economic diversification in Trinidad and Tobago, by spawning two initiatives now engaging the attention of the Ministry of Sport and Community Development (MSCD), where the responsibility for Community Development now lies.  These initiatives currently under development are as follows:


  • The National Policy on the Handicraft Sector in Trinidad and Tobago and
  • Community Economic Development through the Development of Cultural Heritage Spaces.