On Tuesday April 16, in a packed room filled with proud Jamaicans, the Jamaican Consulate General hosted the launch of the 8th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference. The event fittingly took place at the City Commission of Miramar – a South Floridian community dominated by Jamaican political leaders, including Mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Wayne Messam.
Joining Messam were other top Jamaican American and Jamaican government officials including Consul General, Oliver Mair and Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith.
It was announced that the 2019 edition of the Jamaican Diaspora Conference will be held June 16-20 in Kingston under the theme “Jamaica and the Diaspora: Building Pathways for Sustainable Development”.
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Convened bi-annually by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the conference aims to reconnect Jamaicans around the globe with Jamaica in order to create unified action for the overall betterment of the country. This year’s event, Minister Johnson Smith informed, will focus on 5 P’s – people, partnership, prosperity, planet, and peace. Ambassador Sharon Saunders, also of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, said the conference will reignite and re-energize partnerships between Jamaica and the diaspora.
Diaspora Leaders Weigh In On The Jamaica Diaspora Conference
Wayne Golding, Diaspora Representative to the Southern US, noted Jamaica’s great impact within the US, and also the enormous social and economic changes that have begun to unfold recently on the island, making it an ideal time for diaspora interest and investment.
“It is evident that we are beyond barrel and remittances,” Golding said, regarding the state of both the diaspora and of advancements in Jamaica. He further acknowledged the many Jamaicans throughout the diaspora who have assumed leadership across a variety of sectors. “We develop strong leaders in whatever communities we are located,” he continued.
Senator Johnson Smith also reiterated the sentiment, stating, “Wherever we are, we are not only valuable, we are also valued,” as she applauded the diaspora’s strength in leadership. She shared with the audience the extent to which Jamaica is ripe for investment opportunities. For example, the unemployment rate, she said, is now below 8 percent – the lowest it has been in over 50 years. She also noted that the Jamaica Stock Exchange was recently named by Bloomberg as the best performing stock exchange in the entire world.
This year’s conference, as in the past two conferences, will feature a marketplace of Jamaican goods and services, as well as a range of cultural activities. Diaspora Day of Service, a day set aside for volunteering within the community, will be held on the last day of the conference, June 20th.
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Details of the Event
A youth forum will also be held within the conference, which will engage the younger generation of Jamaican descent. The goal, organizers explain, is to nurture youth involvement in nation-building and to solidify a deep sense of connection among young Jamaicans living outside of the country.
The event will take place at the Jamaica Conference Centre, and promises to be an excellent avenue for Jamaicans living abroad to explore opportunities for investment, business, real estate acquisition, and to give back.
Since the first Jamaica Diaspora Conference was held in 2004, enthusiastic delegations from Jamaican communities in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States have traveled to Jamaica to actively participate in the conference, as they seek to build closer, and meaningful ties between Jamaica and its diaspora.
This year it is estimated that at least fifty, and possibly over one-hundred, Jamaicans residing in South Florida will be attending the conference.
Conference launch events are being held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade across the Jamaican Diaspora, which, organizers expect, will reap a record turn out of overseas Jamaican delegates in attendance at this year’s conference.
