19 March 2011

Cayman Islands Constitutional Commission Opens New Website

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Official Statement
Constitutional Commission Press Briefing 2011

Launch of Constitutional Commission website

Thank you for attending today’s press briefing.

A primary function of the Constitutional Commission is to promote understanding and awareness of the Constitution and its values and to publish reports, discussion and information papers and other documents on constitutional matters affecting the Cayman Islands.

Today we are pleased to announce the official launch of the Commission’s new website http://www.knowyourconstitution.ky/. This new website will serve as an important, interactive resource tool for residents and visitors offering educational materials for teachers, downloadable copies of the Constitution, and discussion papers on constitutional matters and legislation submitted by our legislators, citizens and organisations.

The website includes several key sections:

• A Learning Centre for everyone who wants to know more about the Constitution. It includes information on government, the constitutional negotiations and national celebrations. It also features some work by our next generation of civic leaders. The section provides links to websites for the other United Kingdom Overseas Territories constitutions and allows teachers to post school projects and lesson plans.

• The Constitution belongs to the people of the Cayman Islands so it is critical that every citizen understands and protects its provisions. The only way our citizens can carry out this important responsibility is to get involved and to learn the constitution. The Get Involved section provides visitors with networking links to other constitutional institutions, the Governor’s office, Cabinet Office, Legislative Assembly, Judicial
Administration, Cayman Islands Government, local non-governmental organizations and regional and international institutions. We invite the public to visit this section and to share your ideas, concerns and questions with us.

• The Commission supports open and transparent public discussions so that everyone in the community is aware of our work. The Publications link allows the public to read and print copies of all of our reports, minutes of our meetings and laws.

• The Media section lists news items and multi-media reports that have either been produced by the Commission or the printed or electronic media. Videos will be posted regularly so that the public can view important events relating to the Constitution and good governance.

• The Galleries section includes pictures of events involving the Commission including the historic signing of the new Constitutional order and the Governor’s Reception to mark Constitution Day in July 2010.

• For persons seeking answers to key questions, we have developed an easy to read Frequently Asked Questions section. The Commission plans to continue to expand this section so that we can add any question that would make it easier for everyone to learn the provisions of the Constitution.

• The website also allows persons who wish to contact us to send us a message via email. We believe the website is a significant achievement towards fulfilling one of our functions to promote understanding and awareness of the Constitution. We invite all residents to visit the site regularly and to send us any feedback or questions you may have.

We would like to thank Mr. Jason Webster from the Constitutional Secretariat’s office and the hard working team at GIS Marketing and Communications, specifically Cornelia Olivier who designed the site. We would also wish to acknowledge the individuals and organisations that have submitted documents for posting to the site. It is this level of support and interaction that we encourage so that we can continue to keep constitutional issues at the forefront of the national dialogue.

In closing, the next phase of the Commission’s work now moves to the district level. We are planning to hold a series of district meetings in partnership with the elected district representatives beginning in April. These public meetings and discussions will allow us to meet residents and to explain our work and to answer any questions about constitutional matters. The dates and locations for the meetings will be released shortly once all of plans have been finalized.

We thank you for attending today’s press briefing and we are now available to respond to any questions you may have at this time.

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