SOUTH FLORIDA – On Tuesday, June 16, 2020, Jamaicans worldwide will join together to celebrate Jamaica Diaspora Day with a full day of virtual sessions.
The event hosted by the Jamaica Diaspora Taskforce Action Network (JDTAN) in association with Jamaicans.com will highlight the extraordinary work and contributions of the Diaspora in collaboration with Jamaica.
The Diaspora is estimated to be approximately 3 million worldwide, the largest populations being in the United States, the UK, and Canada respectively.
This year, 2020, is the 17th anniversary of the day a resolution was proposed during the first Jamaica Diaspora Conference in 2004. It was declared a year later by Jamaica’s late Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke, and is now celebrated annually. The date also falls within Caribbean American Heritage Month.
The full day of activities will be broadcast live on Facebook’s Jamaicans.com platform, OneLoveJamaica, starting at 10am US EST through 10pm US EST.
Speakers from Jamaica
- Jamaica’s Health Minister Christopher Tufton
- Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade MP Lisa Hanna
- Brigadier General Roderick Williams from the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF)
- Charles Clayton from Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ)
- Other guests
Speakers from Diaspora
- Judge Norman Hemmings, Chief federal Administrative Law Judge
- Dr. Trevor Nixon, President of the JahJah Foundation
- Cassandra Campbell from the Facebook Elevate program
- Other Diaspora members spanning Education, Technology, Agriculture, the Legal Sector, Youth Leadership, Deaf and Other Abled, Health, Media and more.
Sessions will also feature Diaspora organizations in Canada, Europe, Middle East, Australia, and the US including the Global Alumni networks.
The day will also include a series of professional development sessions for the Jamaica Teachers Association themed “Future Ready Educators.”
Leo Gilling, Charmain of JDTAN commented, “it’s good to see Jamaicans around the world converging on a virtual platform to commemorate an important day in the history of the Diaspora movement. We are continuing to deepen the engagements and exploring varied ways to collaborate with Jamaica.”
Rukie Wilson, Diaspora Day coordinator and Chair of the Citizen Security and Safety Taskforce added, “This event is a testament to how the Diaspora will continue to pivot in these times to show up for our beloved Jamaica.”
JDTAN is a network of 15 sectoral Diaspora Taskforces with members across 21 countries. Taskforces have been operating for the past seven years as a collaborative approach to engage, and mobilize the Jamaican Diaspora to join forces and support Jamaica in achieving Jamaica Vision 2030 and UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs.)
We couldn’t be more honored to partner with JDTAN to host Jamaica Diaspora Day”, said Xavier Murphy, founder of Jamaicans.com, “Our platform has always showcased the achievements and the impact of Jamaicans worldwide. I am also looking forward to moderating the session on Media & The Diaspora. We hope to provide information that will empower the community.”
Jamaicans.com is the world’s leading website and media entity covering Jamaican and Caribbean news, travel, food and culture.
Jamaicans and Friends of Jamaica across the world are invited to join the first global and virtual event of this nature. For more information and to register for free visit, diasporaday.jdtan.org
Click below to Watch “Diaspora a We” by Dr. Sue
