People’s Roundtable to give 'voice to the voiceless'

THIRTEEN civil society organisations have joined forces to establish a movement called the People’s Roundtable with the aim of mobilising communities to lobby government to effect change.

Although it is led by the political leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) David Abdulah, who wears the hat of “convenor,” he denied that it is the genesis of a political party.

The movement was launched on Tuesday at the Royal Hotel, San Fernando.

Abdulah explained the shared concerns among the different established bodies, which have been operating as separate entities, about the state of Trinidad and Tobago.

This led to very thoughtful conversations and the realisation that they shared common interests and goals, such as grow power from the grassroots, and the formation of the body.

In its advocacy for “the public interest,” Abdulah explained the roundtable “will be focused on the interest of the ordinary men and women in our society, the voiceless and those who, in the eyes of the powerful, do not count.”

The group has no formal structure nor a brick-and-mortar headquarters, but will network via social media platforms, to interact with other groups with shared interests.

Abdulah said the People’s Roundtable is open to all NGOs, community-based organisations (CBOs) and other civil-society organisations which share a commitment to the “public interest, the common good and a better life for all.”

The 13 member organisations are the Disabled People’s International TT Chapter; Farmers’ Union; Guave Road Farmers’ Association; Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women; Sou Sou Lands Co-Operative; All Mansions of Rastafari; the Artists Coalition; the Joint Trade Union Movement; the Single Fathers’ Association; the Students’ Guild, Cipriani College of Labour and Co-Operative Studies; the Scrap Iron Dealers’ Association; Tobago CivilNET; and Trinidad Youth Council.