June 16, 2005 will be celebrated as Jamaica Diaspora Day in Jamaica and by Jamaicans the world over. The celebrations in South Florida will be marked by a Reception at Nova Southeastern University’s Terry Building in Davie, Florida to celebrate Jamaicans in the Diaspora.
Special guest is Prof. The Hon. Rex Nettleford, Chairman of the Jamaican Diaspora Foundation and the event is being held under the distinguished patronage of the Consul General of Jamaica, the Hon. C.P. Ricardo Allicock.
Jamaicans in the Southern United States will also participate in an inaugural Jamaican Diaspora Symposium on Saturday, June 18, 2005 at Florida Atlantic University 2912 College Avenue, Liberal Arts Building, Davie, Florida. The day-long Symposium is organized in three panels focusing on philanthropy, economic empowerment and political galvanization.
The June 18 gathering will be treated to an opening address from Chairman Douglas Orane of Grace Kennedy & Co. Orane was the Chairman of the inaugural Jamaican Diaspora Conference held in Jamaica June 16 and 17, 2004 and has been a leader in the private sector in recognizing the contribution of the overseas Jamaican community to the continued development of Jamaica.
The philanthropy panel at the Saturday Symposium will focus on civil society developments in Jamaica such as alternate dispute resolution, strategies for good governance and philanthropic activities, emphasizing Homecoming Week in October. The panelists Yvonne Coke (Hands Across Jamaica), Sherene McKenzie (MSI-CIV JAM), Donna Parchment, Esq. (Dispute Resolution Foundation) and John Bassie, Esq. will be coming from Jamaica to participate in the event.
The community will be given an update on economic development in Jamaica, be
advised on avenues to personally invest in Jamaica, and be informed on how to access capital in the United States by the panelists on the economic panel. Presenters will be Venise Pottinger from JAMPRO, Sharon Smith, Assistant General Manager of JN Fund Managers, Ltd. (Jamaica National), and Janet Davis of Southeast American Financial Group, Inc. and the Jamaica USA Chamber of Commerce.
Seasoned immigration attorneys Oliver Langstadt and Sharon Brown and politically savvy Dr. Marcia Magnus and Commissioner Hazelle Rodgers, all of South Florida, will present on the political galvanization panel. They will discuss pathways to United States Citizenship and how to organize politically to lobby for Jamaicans in the Diaspora and Jamaica.
The Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board Member – Southern United States, Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington is pleased with the response from Jamaica and the event’s sponsors. “I am thrilled with the response from those invited from Jamaica to participate in the Symposium. It goes a long way towards establishing links with the overseas community when some of the key names in the private sector respond to the invitation to an inaugural event of this type.”
Walker-Huntington says the goal of the Symposium is to further the mandate of the Diaspora Conference as information is shared with Jamaicans in the Diaspora and attendees can leave the symposium with updated information of their homeland and tools for living in their adopted home.
“Jamaicans from across the Southern United States will converge on Davie, Florida and if nothing else can network and learn from each other what Jamaicans are doing to help ourselves and our homeland”, says Walker-Huntington. “The Thursday event will celebrate our place in the Diaspora and the Symposium will layout working models of information and action”. The key message that we hope to impart is that the Jamaican Diaspora is every Jamaican living outside of Jamaica.
The events are sponsored by Nova Southeastern University, Florida Atlantic University, Grace Kennedy & Co. Ltd., The Jamaica Tourist Board, Air Jamaica, Jamaica National, Western Union, Sun Sentinel, LEASA Industries, The Weekly Gleaner, The Gleaner Extra, Grace Kennedy Foods, Pointe Village, The National Weekly, Jamaica- USA Chamber of Commerce, www.SouthFloridaCaribbeanNews.Com , Bank United and Caribbean Today.
The cost to attend the Symposium is $15 pp, continental breakfast and buffet lunch are included. Deadline to register is June 10, 2005. Call 954-963-8555 for further information.
