WASHINGTON, DC– BET Jazz, one of the leading global television networks, announced its support for Counterpart International’s popular Caribbean Media Exchange (CMEx) on Sustainable Tourism series this year.
Cybelle Brown, BET Digital Networks’ Vice President of Sales and Marketing, says the organization’s contribution to CMEx was its way of giving something back to a region that had traditionally supported the television network.
“We’ve been associated with Counterpart International, through its CMEx initiative for the past two years and it has gone very well for us at BET Jazz in particular,” Brown said.
CMEx is an interactive workshop that allows journalists from the Caribbean, North America and Europe to interact with representatives of the hospitality sector and government and discuss tourism policies aimed at improving the lives of Caribbean people.
BET Jazz has helped stimulate travel to the Caribbean through the events that BET produces in Anguilla, Cayman Islands, St. Lucia, the Turks and Caicos and other territories where it has partnerships.
“So the Caribbean is an important business partner for us, and like we did for the December Kalalu World Music Festival in St. Lucia, we will continue to support Caribbean events, especially where there is the viability for a long term partnership,” she said.
BET Jazz will continue to have a strong presence at CMEx conferences in 2006, the next of which will be staged in San Juan, Puerto Rico from February 9-13, 2006.
The theme for the meeting will be “Sustainable Development: A Balancing Act”. Delegates will examine how they can motivate the best people to engage in tourism development. As a result, it creates wealth while revitalizing local culture and conserving the fragile environment.
Brown announced that negotiations for the expanded distribution for the BET Jazz Channel will be announced in the first quarter of 2006. Along with a re-branding and programming re-launch for the network.
Lelei LeLaulu, President of Counterpart International, said BET Jazz has contributed directly to a resurgence of interest in all music which in turn leads to a revival of Caribbean music and art. “The festivals produced by BET have exposed legions of tourists and locals to the wonder of the Caribbean.”
Since 2001, Counterpart has staged 12 CMEx meetings in the Caribbean and one in New York that have sharpened professional skills, offered freelance training opportunities for Caribbean media in North America, forged smart partnerships between public and private sector organizations and encouraged the implementation of sustainable tourism initiatives that safeguard the environment and enrich Caribbean communities.
