DEBATES
WATCH PARTICIPANTS EMPOWERED BY THE EXPERIENCE

Kingston,
Jamaica. September 2, 2020. Participants in
the Jamaica Debates Commission (JDC) sponsored Debate watches say
that the experience has empowered them to hold political leaders
accountable for commitments made during the election campaign. They
say the Debate Watches provided an opportunity for meaningful
political engagement with fellow citizens.

Close
to 450 Jamaicans from rural and urban areas across the island and in
the Diaspora participated in Debate Watches which were mounted live
at the Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC) as part of the
JDC’s three National Debates in the lead up to the General Election
on Thursday September 3, 2020.

Participants
were invited to connect to the teleconferencing platform Zoom via
smartphones or computers to watch the three debates and then
participate in discussions hosted by trained facilitators, pulled
from the Dispute Resolution Foundation of Jamaica.

Crime
and violence, the COVID-19
recovery plan, Unemployment,
Job Creation, Taxation and Economic growth were among the top issues
of interest raised by participants in
Debate Watches.

Education,
Water, Roads, Transportation and Affordable Housing were also major
issues of interest.

There
was criticism from the participants in the youth and Diaspora Zoom
rooms who felt that that there was too much time “playing
politics“and focusing on
past achievements instead of presenting a path for the way forward.

The
main objective of the Zoom Debate Watches was to invite participants
to listen to the content of each debate with an open mind and assess
the relevance and importance of the proposed policies and plans to
their lives at the individual, community and national levels.

The
first debate on Social Issues was held on Tuesday August 25th
with teams from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s
National Party (PNP). The second debate on Economic Issues was
mounted on Thursday August 27th
with the Minister of Finance Dr. Nigel Clarke and Opposition Finance
Spokesman Mark Golding. The final debate on Leadership Issues was
mounted on Saturday August 29th
with Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Dr. Peter
Phillips.

All
three debates were broadcast live on more than ten radio and
television stations in Jamaica as well as via cable in 18 Caribbean
countries and also on cable in the Tri-States of New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut in the United States of America. It was also
available on the JDC’s website and YouTube channel.

The
Jamaica Debates Commission (JDC) is a charitable organization that is
a partnership between the Media Association of Jamaica (MAJ) and the
Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC). The successful staging of the
debates was made possible with sponsorship by Proven. Scotiabank,
NCB, Panjam, University of the West indies, Digicel, Flow, JN Group,
Victoria Mutual Building Society and the National Democratic
Institute.