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Cocos (Keeling) Islands Strategic Plan: Building a Brighter Future

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a small and unique community with a rich culture and history, has unveiled its strategic plan for the next decade. The plan aims to address key challenges and opportunities, ensuring the long-term sustainability and growth of the islands.

Key Focus Areas

The strategic plan focuses on five key areas:

  • Youth Training and Employment: Providing employment pathways for young people, particularly in tourism, hospitality, and food production.
  • Affordable and Accessible Housing: Developing affordable housing options to cater to the growing population and address homelessness.
  • Preserving Our Culture and Building on the Arts: Celebrating the Cocos Malay culture through arts, heritage, and community events.
  • Education Improvements and Employment Pathways for All: Enhancing educational opportunities, particularly in STEM fields, and creating employment pathways for all residents.
  • Community Infrastructure Development: Investing in infrastructure development to improve health, education, housing, and community facilities.

Strategic Objectives

The plan outlines five strategic objectives:

  1. Improve Health Outcomes: Addressing chronic disease and promoting healthy lifestyles to improve overall health outcomes.
  2. Increase Economic Growth: Growing the economy through tourism, hospitality, and food production initiatives.
  3. Enhance Educational Opportunities: Providing education improvements and employment pathways for young people.
  4. Develop Affordable Housing Options: Creating affordable housing options to cater to the growing population.
  5. Protect and Preserve the Natural Environment: Protecting and preserving the natural environment through sustainable waste management and renewable energy production.

Challenges and Threats

The plan also acknowledges five challenges and threats:

  • Chronic Disease: Chronic disease is on the rise, placing increased demands on home-based health care.
  • Aging Population: The aging population requires innovative solutions to address healthcare needs.
  • Unemployment among Young People: Many Cocos Malay students struggle to find full-time employment after graduating from Year 12.
  • Waste Management: The removal of waste from CKI is prohibitively expensive, requiring a Best Practice Waste Strategy.
  • Disparity between Home Island and West Island Facilities: The disparity between Home Island and West Island facilities, including the AFP and educational institutions, poses risks and challenges.

Action Plan

The strategic plan outlines a comprehensive action plan to address these challenges and opportunities. This includes:

  • Implementing health promotion programs to combat chronic disease.
  • Developing tourism and hospitality initiatives to increase economic growth.
  • Introducing school-training-work pathways to enhance employment opportunities for young people.
  • Creating affordable housing options through community-led projects.
  • Investing in infrastructure development to improve community facilities.

Conclusion

The Cocos (Keeling) Islands Strategic Plan is a comprehensive roadmap for the next decade, focusing on key areas such as youth training and employment, affordable housing, preserving our culture, education improvements, and community infrastructure development. By addressing challenges and opportunities, we can ensure a brighter future for generations to come.