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LOCAL Thursday 23 January 2020

Continued from Page 14 expanding opportunity for career not afford another decade or two vestment”, thus making it the least
training are crucial too”. to catch up. The right priorities and popular choice for politicians.
Especially when we are talking the initiative needs to be aligned in Overall, our focus should not be
about developing new econo- Moving Forward order to solidify the foundation we on merely making vision boards
mies, providing education in these Since the adoption of the 2030 are working on. Inter-ministry, inter- for the future but by strategically
6 sectors will help build the human Agenda, the role and contribution organizational, inter-departmental solving our educational issues. The
capital needed to do so. Plato of culture to sustainable develop- dynamics should be addressed next generations will need it more
even expressed that “if a man ne- ment has been more elaborative and encouraged. The SDGs as sim- than we can imagine. As an island
glects education, he walks lame to in national and local cultural poli- ple as they may seem are nos frag- state, Aruba must start prioritizing
the end of his life”, indicating that cies, especially considering cul- mented but are designed to work the unpopular yet necessary ele-
if governments and organizations ture’s contribution to economic effectively in cluster networks. It re- ments to secure sustainable socio-
deny the power of education they development, social inclusion and sembles the policy process which economic development. The first
are limiting themselves beyond education. Effective evidence- includes all relevant actors and steps have already been made,
years. In the age of globalization, based policy making and strategic stakeholders. Having nicely written but it will now require some com-
Aruba cannot fall in this trap. Us- planning remain important aspects reports does not cover the issues at mitment and following through.
ing India as a case study example, for the island. Both top-down and stake, but good implementation Aruba has shown her support after
Kobzev Kotaskova et. al (2018) ex- bottom-up the dialogue needs to and monitoring plans should be the terrible fire at Cacique Macu-
plain that an “increase of employ- create opportunity for more com- taken seriously. arima Elementary School through
ment and focus on structuralizing munication and collaboration. De- many donations and aid. Aruba’s
of the economy are key tools how cisions we make today in the edu- Even though education is the most education system might be under
to increase the level and quality cation system will have long lasting important tool, it has the longest or attack, but now it is our turn to fight
of education. Encouraging and effects for the future. Aruba can- least eye catching “return on in- back!q

Biography - Thaïs G. Franken (24) is a recently graduated Aruban student at the University of Maastricht
(UM). She obtained her graduate double master of science degree in Public Policy and Human Develop-
ment in collaboration with the United Nations University Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute
on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT). Back home, on the beautiful island of Aruba, she completed
her Bachelor of Arts in Organization, Governance & Management (OGM) at the University of Aruba (UA),
where she successfully defended her thesis titled “Placing Culture and Creativity at the Heart of the Aru-
ban Sustainable Development”. It was precisely this research project that inspired the emergence of the
“Creative Islander” column in 2018. Thaïs is very passionate about topics such as sustainability, innovation,
culture, creativity, social entrepreneurship and their role in public management. Next to her academic in-
terests, she enjoys reading, writing, dancing and cooking.