MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — The 11th Jamaica Diaspora Conference closed Wednesday with record attendance. There was also a renewed call for Jamaicans overseas to help drive national development. Conference Chairman Earl Jarrett described the event as the country’s “greatest homecoming experience.”
More than 1,000 Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica from 15 countries attended the June 14-18 event at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. As a result, it became the largest conference in the event’s 22-year history. The biennial gathering was held under the theme “Diaspora Partnerships: Rebuilding a More Resilient Jamaica.”
Key Topics
Delegates discussed investment, returning residency, agriculture, education, philanthropy, technology, security, youth engagement, disaster response and climate resilience. Moreover, Jarrett said the programme was shaped by feedback from the diaspora. In this way, the agenda reflected issues delegates considered most urgent.
Jarrett, chief executive officer of The Jamaica National Group, said the turnout reflected the diaspora’s deep commitment to Jamaica’s future. Additionally, he said Jamaicans overseas have become more than relatives abroad supporting families and communities at home. Instead, they have become a movement.
Diaspora Response to Hurricane Melissa
He pointed to the diaspora’s response after Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm that devastated sections of Jamaica in October 2025, as evidence of that growing influence.
“You have all organically created these institutions abroad in support of your schools, communities, families and Jamaica itself,” Jarrett said, praising the diaspora’s philanthropy.
“Those many containers and others that were received were because of your own efforts. And when I saw videos of persons who came to donate, it wasn’t just you, but also your friends and neighbours.”
Jarrett said those friends of Jamaica should also be viewed as part of the wider diaspora movement, adding that, when they are included, Jamaica’s global reach represents “a really massive movement.”
While commending the government and stakeholders for staging the conference, Jarrett said its real measure of success will be “what happens next.”
“It’s not just about coming here together, which is a good thing too, because it’s good to convene,” he said. “It is about finding solutions to the issues raised.”
Hon. Alando Terrelonge
Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Alando Terrelonge, who has responsibility for diaspora affairs, echoed that call as he closed the conference.
“The true value of our discussions will be measured not by the quality of the conversations alone, but by the actions we take in the weeks, months and years ahead,” Terrelonge said.
He said the conference had already produced tangible outcomes, including new investment discussions, business partnerships and efforts to launch a British Jamaican Chamber of Commerce to strengthen trade between Jamaica and the United Kingdom.
“These discussions were not merely theoretical,” Terrelonge said. “New investment conversations have begun. Business relationships have been formed, and practical solutions have been proposed.”
For the first time, Terrelonge said, the conference will produce a declaration informed by the discussions and recommendations made during the event. This declaration will guide Jamaica’s future collaboration with the diaspora.
He also said the conference’s success was especially significant given the damage Hurricane Melissa caused to the Montego Bay Convention Centre months earlier.
“Four months ago, this space was not looking anything like this,” he said. “Through collaboration and determination, we were able to get the convention centre ready for the conference.”
