Caption: The Most Honourable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica
The Most Honourable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica will officially launch the Jamaica 60 Diaspora Conference, a signature event on the calendar for the Jamaica 60 Celebrations hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
“Jamaica recognizes the importance of our Diaspora and its contribution to national development. The Diaspora remains vibrant and strong despite its own challenges. My Government is grateful and encouraged that, the Jamaican Diaspora continues to demonstrate its commitment to assist Jamaica in its efforts to build forward stronger and we are determined to work together with its members toward that objective,” stated Prime Minister Holness.
The Prime Minister said that he welcomed this opportunity to launch the Jamaica 60 Diaspora Conference, which coincides with the country’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. “This conference is positioned as the global forum that connects our nationals all over the world. I look forward to engaging with key stakeholders at the launch of this event,” he added.
In speaking about the upcoming global launch, Senator the Honourable Leslie Campbell, Minister of State with responsibility for Diaspora Affairs, shared that, “The launch will be an exciting precursor to what promises to be a memorable Conference and will begin the countdown to our celebration and collective dialogue. We are grateful to our valuable legacy partners, members of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council, the Global Jamaica Diaspora Youth Council and the wider Diaspora, as well as all stakeholders who have contributed to the planning process thus far.”
The Minister added that, “This global launch will be held in hybrid format, which will enable Diasporans to participate remotely from their respective locations in North America, Europe, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. It will be followed by virtual satellite briefings over the period, May 10 to May 17, with the support of Jamaica’s diplomatic and consular missions overseas.”
Senator Don Wehby, Chairman of the Conference and Group CEO of GraceKennedy noted that, “GraceKennedy has been supporting the Conference since its inception and we are happy to be on board as a legacy partner for the Diaspora Conference once again this year. The Diaspora Conference is a fantastic example of an effective public-private sector partnership. We are pleased to be working along with the Ministry and our fellow legacy partners to engage our family, friends, colleagues in the Diaspora in meaningful discussion about extracting our nation’s fullest potential in all aspects of life.”
The event is slated to be held on Friday, May 6 at 10:00 a.m at the Ministry’s Headquarters in downtown Kingston and will be hosted in collaboration with Conference stakeholders and legacy partners: Grace Kennedy, Jamaica National Group and the Victoria Mutual Group.
