CIRA president Angie Tuara said they want the public forum or summit to capture the “immediacy” and “deep concerns” of the situation on the local front, and to bring government, private sector and non-government organizations together to see what can be done.
“When it was raised at one of our meetings recently, we felt strongly about it and decided, why not,” said Tuara.
“It’s happening now and everyone has a vested interest in what is going to happen and how this will affect us. The forum will at least give us an overview — a snapshot — of the current situation, and that has got to be a good thing for all of us,” she added.
A number of speakers are being lined up for the Feb. 4 event, but Tuara said the forum is not intended to be a talkfest where everyone has their say and then goes back home.
“That’s why we want to bring together representatives of government and the private sector — there will be a couple of key resolutions as to what ought to be done, a couple of different ideas, a couple of options — hopefully they [the government] will be able to take these recommendations on board,” she said.
