Over 30 years of support to Sustainable and Inclusive Communities in Latin America
At the most recent council meeting of East Bolton, the newly appointed director general, Mélisa Camiré, took the opportunity to read the tribute to Mayor Joan Westland-eby by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Winnipeg Mayor Jenny Gerbasi, the president of the FCM, drafted a letter on behalf of the organization that recognized Westland-eby for her outstanding contribution to the development, implementation and participation in FCM’S program, Sustainable and Inclusive Communities in Latin America (CISAL), since 2016.
Gerbasi says that, “The success of FCM’S international programs is due in large part to the incredible contribution of hundreds of dedicated municipal experts, like Joan Westland-eby, who have dedicated their time and energy to FCM’S international programs.”
Funded by the federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, CISAL is a five-year program that aims to support local governments in mining regions of Colombia and Peru. Its purpose is to help the local communities achieve higher social benefits and sustainable economic opportunities because they face big challenges when it comes to ensuring the welfare of their citizens. According to FSA, this is because Latin-american countries represent a high percentage of production and new investments being made in the mining sector. Its three main objectives are to strengthen the capacity of participatory
planning and to demonstrate the value of accountability and transparency when it comes to management. The group wants to promote local development and diversification. By working together, the hope is to exchange best practices amongst local and central governments, private companies and the partners imparting knowledge. That collaboration will be strengthened. Stronger collaboration would be the strengthening agent to success.
Westland-eby has been involved in international projects for more than 30 years. On this specific project with FCM she has centered her efforts specifically in Colombia over the past two years. In December 2017 she was one of 20 mayors from Colombia, Peru and Canada who congregated at the third Summit of Mayors and Partners to exchange strategies on how to provide opportunities to mining communities. Giving the opening statements for the summit on behalf of FCM she said that, “By planning for development at a municipal level, we must think of how our decisions impact communities, the economy, and the environment.”
According to the FSA, the outcome of that summit was that 16 mayors from Canada, Colombia, and Peru signed a statement where they acknowledged and committed to a series of items that are important to providing better social and economic services and opportunities to their communities. The statement acknowledges the fundamental role of local governments.