Wendel Abel

Jamaica is about to embark on a major campaign - vision 2030. The aim is for this country to achieve first world status by the year 2030. This is a great vision and certainly a bold step forward. However, slogans alone will not bring about changes; for any individual, community or nation to make a transformation there must be fundamental changes in the mindset of its people. The planners must engage the entire society in discussions so that we can all claim ownership of the process.

1. Determine how we want others to see us: Do we want the world to see Jamaica as an unsafe, crime-ridden country where it is extremely difficult to conduct business? Do we want to be seen as a country in which the politicians are corrupt and only concerned about sharing the spoils among themselves and their followers? Do we want to be seen as a country whose police force is so corrupt that it is involved in car stealing rings, connected to gunmen, and can't be trusted by citizens? Do we want to be seen as a people who are aggressive, loud and ill-mannered?

2. Our ideals, vision and dreams: In order to achieve this transformation, we should as a nation clarify and clearly assert our common ideals, vision and shared dreams. The Jamaican dream must be an embodiment of our common ideals and vision. To date, we have not clearly articulated a 'Jamaican dream' that will drive our people and motivate us. People all over the world are driven by the idea that with hard work and appropriate attitudes they will be able to carve out a comfortable existence; they are assured that they can live in a safe community; they are guaranteed the basic amenities, adequate health care and access to good education and that they will live reasonably well in retirement.

3. Our core values: Barack Obama in his book, Audacity of Hope describes values as the glue upon which every healthy society depends. We must instil in our people the value of patriotism, our obligations as citizens and a sense of duty and sacrifice. We must emphasise the need to value and display attitudes and behaviours that express regard for each other such as honesty, fairness, courtesy and respect. We must instil those traditional values that guided our ancestors out of slavery to establish a modern Jamaica; values such as hard work, personal responsibility, faith and respect for each other. Today, many things have gone wrong in Jamaica - our value system has become distorted, our families are in crisis, our communities are in disarray and our economy is in shambles. All these things are connected. Clearly, the values and attitudes campaign must be strengthened and seen as critical to this transformation process.

4. Changing the way we think: Disraeli once said, "You can never go higher than you think." We need to change the fundamental way in which our people think. We have become too catastrophic in our thinking and can only think the worst about ourselves as a people, the worst about our neighbours and the very worst about our future. We have become too pessimistic and can only see the glass as half empty. If, for example, you have a group of Jamaicans in a community, staff or church meeting, most people will spend most of the time 'bellyaching' and complaining about what has gone wrong instead of focusing on the solutions. If we are going to move forward, we must see the opportunities and not be fixated on the obstacles.

5. Prosperity is yours, claim it. In the modern world success and prosperity are no longer determined by where you were born and the family you were born into; if you work hard, display the correct attitude and the appropriate mind set, you can achieve prosperity.

Each of us must recognise that prosperity is ours and we must claim it as we usher this country into the first world.