MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – The 2013 Biennial Diaspora Conference, to take place in Montego Bay, June 16-19, under the theme, “A Nation on a Mission: Jamaica-Diaspora Partnerships for Development,” was highlighted at a recent forum in Miami as one of the events to foster discussions, which can assist Jamaica to achieve its development initiatives.
“I encourage as many persons as possible to come to the conference and engage our political, industry and civic leaders on strategies for growth and development,” Earl Jarrett, General Manager, of Jamaica National Building Society, told participants.
He was addressing a National Debt Exchange (NDX) Forum organised by the JNBS Florida Representative Office, at the Sheraton Suites Hotel, in Plantation on Saturday, April 20.
Carmen Bartlett (left), South East Regional Manager, JN Money Services, Florida, with Hon. Sandra Grant Griffiths (center), Consul-General for Jamaica to Florida and Earl Jarrett (right), General Manager Jamaica National Building Society, smile for the camera following a JN National Debt Exchange Forum, held at the Sheraton Suites Hotel in Plantation Florida on Saturday, April 20, 2013.
Photo Credit: Uriah Bennett
He explained that the upcoming conference will provide a context for discussions about a collaborative and collective approach to national development, to include Jamaicans in the Diaspora.
Mr. Jarrett, who is also Chairman of the Jamaica Diaspora Foundation, pointed out that any strategy for national success cannot reside solely at the government or individual level, “We all need to agree on the way forward and put in place a framework of management which will ensure that there is success.”
The Hon. Sandra Grant Griffiths, Consul General for Jamaica to Florida, in her address, said this renewal of the conference will be of particular significance as, “We are at the crossroads of the engagement process, how we move forward, how we organise ourselves, how we interface with Jamaica and how we make a difference in governance.”
She acknowledged that the sharing of information is an important aspect of the relationships and linkages being sought by Jamaicans in the Diaspora, and the conference will help to facilitate this.
“We expand exponentially beyond our 2.7 million home based population, we surprise the world constantly with our reach and talent; and a significant source of this growth and prominence in the world is sustained by the energy, resource, talents and substantive interest of our Diaspora,” she maintained.
More than 300 overseas delegates are expected to attend the conference from the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada. They will be engaged in direct dialogue with a range of government officials, and members of the private sector, with a view to defining implementable actions in a range of focus areas.
Jamaica National Building Society is one of the main sponsors of the Jamaica Diaspora Conference and has been associated with the event since its inception.
