28th September 2020
Tracking progress against achieving the Cook Islands 2020 vision
In 2016, the Cook Islands set itself a Vision that by 2020, the Cook Islands would be enjoying the highest quality of life consistent with the aspirations of our people, and in harmony with our culture and environment.
Checking to see just how well the Cook Islands is doing in achieving this vision, is the Central Policy and Planning Office (CPPO) of the Cook Islands Office of the Prime Minister. The team are currently reviewing data and information from different government ministries to measure our progress against 66 different indicators which act as the ‘markers’ to achieving 16 national sustainable development goals.
These are the basis of Te Kaveinga Nui, the National Sustainable Development Plan 2016 – 2020, which steers the Cook Islands towards the 2020 vision.
“We’re aiming to have our report that spans our full Te Kaveinga Nui from 2016 to 2020, ready for release next year,” said Valentino Wichman, Director of CPPO.
“To do this we’ve been working with different government ministries, sifting through information shared with us, to develop a report which tells us if we are on track, off track or have areas of concern.”
The last report developed in 2019 outlined one of the 16 goals were on track and continuing to improve, this being Goal two - to expand economic opportunities, improve economic resilience and productive employment to ensure decent work for all.
The report also indicated three of the 16 goals were of concern and regressing, requiring attention. These being goal seven to improve health and promote healthy lifestyles, goal nine to accelerate gender equality, empower all women and girls and advance the fights of youth, the elderly and disabled as well as goal 13 to strengthen resilience to combat the impacts of climate change and natural disasters.
“We’re interested in seeing the trends between the respective years and any implications brought by COVID 19,” said Ms Wichman.
She further elaborated that this reviewed content will feed into the development of the new national blueprint, the Cook Islands National Sustainable Development Agenda 2020+
“These reports, also known as our Te Kaveinga Nui indicator reports, contain a wealth of information that gives us an overview which can also guide our future work. We’re grateful for the government ministries that provide us with a wide range of data and information so we can track our progress as a nation.”
Although Te Kaveinga Nui comes to an end in 2020, the endeavor for sustainable development continues through the NSDA2020+ which has a 100-year vision. It will be mapped against 25-year frameworks, with five-year strategies to measure advancement.
Consultations have been underway since August, to gather viewpoints and ideas as to how the Cook Islands can achieve a 100-year vision of wellbeing, all of which will result in the NSDA020+. To date over 35 consultations have taken place with members of government ministries and state-owned enterprises, Cook Islands Non-Governmental Organisations and the Pa Enua. Consultations are continuing and will soon branch to the private sector, Cook Islanders in New Zealand and Australia, as well as publicly on Rarotonga through the three Vaka.
“This will be a Cook Islands-owned chart upon which we can map our progress towards wellbeing, as such we want to make sure that as many people are heard, so our journey ahead together is as one nation,” said Ms Wichman.
People are also welcome to share their submissions through the website
www.pmoffice.gov.ck, the ‘To’ou Reo’ page is an interactive one which asks for your thoughts and ideas on several issues. Content received through this page is also collated and prepared for researchers to develop key aspects of the NSDA2020+
To learn more about Te Kaveinga Nui and our progress please visit our scorecard at: https://www.pmoffice.gov.ck/
For further information please contact Ms Valentino Wichman at valentino.wichman@cookislands.gov.ck
ENDS…