Visions, Vision, Vision; Shared Vision

Visions, Vision, Vision; Shared Vision

20 December 2025

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,” Sir Isaac Newton wrote in a letter in 1675.

That quote came to mind when I read in the newspaper that the government—read: the Prime Minister—has once again launched a vision trajectory. In December, no less, it is traditionally the busiest month of the year. As if timing were irrelevant.

Vision trajectories are certainly not new in Curaçao. As early as 2013, I wrote an overview article on this recurring pattern (Vision Curaçao 3.0; Goede, 2013). Many more contributions followed. In 2020 or 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, I delivered a keynote address for MEO at the annual event stemming from the National Development Plan (NDP), providing a historical overview of plans, ambitions, and failures.

The very first vision—or rather, a master plan—dates back to 1901 and was authored by van Kol, a member of the Dutch Senate. In 1976, another vision emerged in the context of Suriname’s impending independence, led by the university. In 1997, together with my team at Andersen, I wrote 2020: Creating Our Caribbean Future. Shortly thereafter, I played a role in formulating Vishon Korsou, facilitated in 1999 by the American Henry Luke and inspired by the inaugural address of the new Lieutenant Governor, Betrian. That initiative, too, quietly faded away.

This was followed by Five Stars Curaçao by Vic Pinedo, and later the National Development Plan 2015–2030 (Ministry of General Affairs, 2015). I submitted a proposal for that process, but was confidentially informed that I was “simply not wanted.” In 2020, I evaluated the NDP in multiple sessions. Shortly thereafter, Curaçao 2030 – RESET COVID-19 was published (Goede, 2020).

My question, therefore, is straightforward: where does this new vision trajectory actually connect?

Curaçao has accumulated an enormous amount of experience in drafting plans—and at least as much experience in failing to implement them. Time and again, institutional memory is erased and the wheel reinvented. It increasingly appears that we either do not master our policy instruments or perhaps do not even recognize them.

We read, for example, that a kick-off meeting took place with 150 “change-makers.” Who are these supposed change-makers? Who decides who qualifies, and based on what criteria? This is precisely the same issue I raised earlier regarding the selection of thirty individuals tasked with evaluating fifteen years of autonomy in a commemorative publication. The same question applies to the facilitator of this process: who is it, and how is institutional memory being used?

The trajectory is called Un Korsou. It has, at the very least, a false start. Of course, one could say: give it the benefit of the doubt. But the signs are not encouraging. There is a real risk that this is a stillborn initiative.

Moreover, it appears that the cart is once again being put before the horse. The government already has a vision: Curaçao as the pearl of the Caribbean. In practice, this vision has resulted mainly in covering the island with asphalt and concrete—more concrete than asphalt. The chairman of the governing coalition in Parliament even boasted about the issuance of more than 700 building permits.

I am reminded of 31 December 2023, when the Prime Minister announced a megalomaniacal project for the Caracas Bay beach in his New Year’s address. As time went on, it became apparent—or at least widely suspected—that an architect and a contractor, whose selection process remains unknown, had already been lined up. Now we hear the Minister of Spatial Planning claim that he supports only a marginal development of the Caracas Bay peninsula, because he is “in favor of sustainability.”

Taken together, vision trajectories are excellent vehicles for spending money, producing reports, and staging photo opportunities. But they rarely result in a genuinely shared vision—let alone consistent implementation.

Good luck to everyone.

Miguel Goede

References (APA)

Goede, M. (2013). Vision Curaçao 3.0. University of Governance.https://www.universityofgovernance.com/post/vision-curacao-3-0

Goede, M. (2020). Curaçao 2030: RESET COVID-19. Academia.edu.https://www.academia.edu/97853778/CURA%C3%87AO_2030_R_E_S_E_T_C_O_V_I_D_1_9

Ministry of General Affairs. (2015). National Development Plan Curaçao 2015–2030. Government of Curaçao.

Newton, I. (1675). Letter to Robert Hooke.