Social Impact Assessment framework for Seychelles |04 October 2017

‘Prevention is better than cure’

A three-day workshop to conceptualise and validate a proposed social impact assessment (SIA) framework for Seychelles and also guidelines on how to develop indicators in that area has focused mainly on prevention of social ills rather than on what is the norm – administering cure when such ills occur.

The workshop’s objectives were to create awareness on what SIA is all about; awareness on social impact on communities; introduce tools that can assist with identifying and managing social impacts and investigate practical ways of implementing it.

The training follows previous meetings and workshops conducted with different stakeholders and was organised by the family affairs department in collaboration with the Equispectives Research and Consulting Services in South Africa and facilitated by Dr Ilse Aucamp and San Marie Aucamp of that institution, who have been here for the third time.

Delegates, who came from various government and private organisations, were apprised of

what exactly is social impact which is something that is experienced or felt – physical or perceived and a change either positive or negative. This includes considering people’s way of life like on how they work, play and interact with one another on a daily basis; their culture like their shared beliefs, customs, values and language and dialect. Also in their community – its cohesion, stability, character, services and facility.

“The social impact assessment training is part of a bigger project where we worked together with the department of family affairs to design a social impact assessment framework for the Seychelles. It is the third time we have been here. And in the previous sessions we conducted consultations by asking people what should be in the framework. The training was to introduce the framework to the stakeholders so we can refine it further and to teach participants what social impact assessment is by creating awareness and what kind of indicators they should use,”said Dr Ilse.

She said the framework was stretched over many sectors because every single sector in Seychelles is affected by social effects.

Dr Ilse said she also learned from Seychelles as delegates also voiced out what can be implemented in the Seychelles context or what are too expensive for the country to carry out.

At the end of the workshop delegates received certificates which were presented by Marie-May Leon, director general for social development and policy planning in the Ministry of Family Affairs.