MIRAMAR – The Jamaican Diaspora Southern United States will host a Community Conversation and Town Hall Meeting, titled “Elections 2007: Our Vision for Jamaica’s Future”, on Thursday, July 26, 2007, 6pm to 8:30pm, at the City of Miramar City Hall, 2300 Civic Center Place in Miramar.
The Town Hall meeting will welcome a community conversation with invited representatives from Jamaica’s two main political parties, the People’s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), local media and community leaders, and the voice and input of Jamaicans in the Diaspora.
“Jamaicans in the Diaspora are not constitutionally eligible to vote in national elections, but our ongoing voice and contributions to the development of Jamaica should certainly be embraced in the national discourse of the choice of leadership and issues related to the future direction of the nation.
We intend to approach our civic engagement in a proactive manner,” stated Marlon Hill, Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board Member for the Southern United States.
On Sunday night, July 8, 2007, at a mass rally in Half-Way Tree, Kingston, after announcing all parliamentary candidates, Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller announced that nominations will take place on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 and national elections officially on Monday, August 27, 2007.
Print, radio, and internet media partners in the local South Florida community are expected to play an integral role in facilitating the format and content of the forum. The public is welcome to participate.
“The engagement of the citizens of any nation is the bedrock of the democratic process. For Jamaicans, this is just as important for those who are on island and those living overseas. We hope that this town hall meeting will open the dialogue of the elections in Jamaica,” stated Winston Barnes, Commissioner, City of Miramar and renowned broadcaster with WAVS 1170AM and formerly with RJR Jamaica.
“I believe this town hall meeting will be a great opportunity for the online users in the Jamaica diaspora to ask the representatives of both parties questions in an informal setting and to discuss issues of importance to all Jamaicans wherever they may reside,” stated Xavier Murphy, webmaster of Jamaicans.Com, a website community for Jamaicans worldwide.
Community Partners include the City of Miramar, Air Jamaica, Infinite Markets, My Virtual Office, HOT 105, News/Talk 1080AM WTPS, WAVS 1170AM, Mystik 1400AM, Jamaicans.com, SouthFloridaCaribbeanNews.Com, Caribbean National Weekly, Caribbean Today, Caribbean-American Commentary, The Miami Herald, Miami Gardens Observer, Sun-Sentinel, among others.
For more information on the Town Hall Meeting on the upcoming national elections at the Miramar Town Center, call 786-349-2584 or email [email protected].
