A celebration of recognition was held on Tuesday evening by the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) under the patronage of the Acting President of Trinidad and Tobago, Nigel de Freitas, paying tribute to the dedicated efforts and contributions made by persons to the public sector innovation and service excellence.
According to the Acting President, far too often public officers are characterised by unfair stereotypes that do not truly reflect the value of their contribution.
He said their tireless efforts go unrecognised due to inefficiencies which currently hamper the delivery of services.
“I sincerely appreciate that these Awards provide an opportunity to reward public officers who have taken on the task of improving old systems by finding new and better ways of doing business. It is through these lens that we are able to witness the ongoing efforts to modernise and overcome the long standing issues within our public sector.”
He said by providing such a platform to highlight such remarkable initiatives, it only serves to help shift perceptions and inspire other public officers to strive for similar standards of excellence.
“It is my hope and I dare to say the hope of all of us, that the work showcased here today will inspire and encourage other institutions to move beyond business as usual and become catalysts for innovation and ingenuity. We want our public institutions to take bold steps in pioneering new ideas and adopting innovative approaches. We want them to reject outdated practices and archaic systems and instead embrace modernity, sustainability, and forward thinking strategies.”
According to Senior Health Specialist at the IDB, Ian Ho-A-Shu, innovation has always been important to the IDB as it contributes to improving productivity, prompts us to look at how we can improve and questions the status quo, leading us to push development forward even more.
“Innovation allows our young people to have a space at the table, and a platform to bring change. While all that is great buzz words, at the end of it, innovation allows us to make our economy and our country better for the future, more inclusive, and allow everyone to have a say as we go forward.”
The Diego Martin Borough Corporation captured the Catalyst for Community Change Award. The College of Science, Technology, and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT) won the Award in The Innovation Category while the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government won in the Service Excellence Category.
Studley Park Enterprise Limited (SPEL) and the Ministry of Education took the People’s Choice Awards for their respective categories.
The Catalyst for Social Impact and Sustainability Award was copped by the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI).