NEW YORK (JIS) Wednesday, April 22, 2009 – The first US Jamaica Diaspora Conference will be held in October of this year. Senator Dr. Ronald Robinson, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade has confirmed that the new date following a meeting with members of the Jamaica Diaspora Advisory Board/Northeast USA Sector, at the offices of the Jamaican Consulate in New York City on Tuesday, April 21, 2009.
Senator, Dr. Robinson who has portfolio responsibility for the Jamaica Diaspora Movement (JDM), told JIS News/New York following the meeting that he was very optimistic that there will be a conference in the USA this year, in keeping with the by-laws of the JDM.
He said that the date was being revised from June to October due to serious financial constraints at this time.
The two day conference was originally planned for June 13/14 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but according to Patrick Beckford, Chair of the Jamaica Diaspora Advisory Board/NE USA Sector, the venue selection process was partly to be blamed for the postponement of the meeting.
Beckford said that the original June date will now be used as a key planning session for the October conference.
Senator Dr. Robinson praised the outcome of the meeting which he said identified, “some common but key operating features so that we can have the information flowing in a very organized way”.
“I thought it was a very good meeting with the Diaspora Board for the Northeast region, some objectives were achieved and members left, re-energized and with a clearer direction in terms of the working relationship, particularly in the NE region.”
Senator, Dr. Robinson noted that with the conference as a backdrop as well as the database project being spearheaded by Consul General, Mrs. Geneive Brown Metzger, the boards all three regions along with the heads of missions, will be engaged in monthly meetings with himself and the Diaspora Institute.
Additionally, the NE regional board will be meeting bi-monthly with the Consul General and working with the youth and future leaders for possible participation in the Youth Leaders Conference in Jamaica, from August 4-8, this year.
Key members at the meeting including Consul General Brown Metzger (New York) and Natalie Campbell Rodrigues, Community Relations Attache-Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, DC., concluded that the meeting was a timely reminder of the amount of work that needs to be done towards the development of the Jamaica and the objective of the Diaspora Movement.
“We have now gotten new momentum to move forward on the work that has to be done, in a collaborative effort,” Mrs. Campbell Rodrigues said.
“We are going to be collaborating on a very fulsome collection of information about our nationals to better enhance the two way communication between government and our nationals in the Diaspora,” noted CG Brown Metzger.
Senator Dr. Robinson is on a four state official visit to the Northeast USA since Friday, April 17. The visit ends on Saturday, April 25.
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Contact:
Aubrey L. Campbell
JIS/NY
T: 212-935-7506
