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He needs to see results, which is only possible in the “The key focus areas currently,” he said, “are Youth Workforce
shorter format of the game. “This is the reason I could Development, Citizen Security, and Disaster Vulnerability & Resilience.”
not be a test player,” Sweeney said. It is that format

of cricket, where the results can be a draw. “The field He terms JSIF’s scope of work as social engineering, which in essence,

of development is long term, but we must always is to develop alongside, within and for the people, tangible solutions for

aim to achieve the their empowerment, development

tangible outputs that “I am and growth.
will eventually lead
to the outcomes we In order to achieve those solutions,
desire”. there are issues that need to be

While no tangible building addressed. "One challenge is that
value can be put people are not naturally open to
change," Sweeney said, relating

on social capital, on the this to a Civil Engineering analogy
it is critical, for foundations – the P-Delta effect, wherein there
the development laid for the is destabilizing moment equal
of the country, to to the force of gravity multiplied
strengthen the skill- by the horizontal displacement a
sets, knowledge structure undergoes, as a result of
base, access to basic a lateral horizontal displacement
services and creation of the structure.
of opportunities,
which can help to In simpler terms, the mindset

alleviate poverty. organization, of people often drives them to
“There is a distinct be weary of changes that are
presented to them; the net effect

difference between giving it a is that they are embedded in the
poverty alleviation roadmap situation they are in. “We should
and poverty all have the ability to analyze,
eradication,” he said. foCretnhteur2y1.”st decipher, see the moving parts,
“Poverty cannot be and be self-critical. This is what
eradicated, as much gives us the ability to move out of
as we would like it our situation,” he said.
to.”
“In civil engineering, there is no
The paradigm of scope to fail – you can’t build
a bridge that would collapse,
poverty alleviation, that would be disastrous. We
try to design and implement
according to

Sweeney, is a

combination interventions that will change

of strategic people's lives, instead of failure we

investments in physical spaces and human skill set always aim to achieve even marginal success. ”

development.

“There is a definitive need to develop a robust and This process, he said, is about identifying and reaching out to those who
competent network which takes ownership of the are willing to make the change. “JSIF is about assisting the vulnerable
tangible and intangible resources accorded to all the and to facilitate this assistance to the underserved,” he said.
stakeholders,” he said.
The key, according to him, is to enhance community safety, which is not
He informed that it is part of the mandate of JSIF to policing per se, but to educate the key stakeholders in the community
mobilize resources for technology and innovation. to protect their own space and their tangible resources – community
centers, schools etc.

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