Princess Anne Urges Emerging Leaders to Empower Change

Her Royal Highness, Princess Royal, Princess Anne, has charged participants in the Caribbean-Canada Emerging Leaders’ Dialogue (CCELD) to use the training and experience gained to empower change in their respective countries.

She was addressing the closing ceremony for the 2015 programme held at the Pegasus Hotel on Friday (Oct. 2).

 “As leaders, you want to make a difference and the difference is not necessarily making the whole world a better place but that you can make an impact that will improve life; that will make life better,” Her Royal Highness said.

“From that base, there is a very good chance that there will be huge improvement globally. It’s [about] empowering everybody to be in the situation where they can believe that they can all make a difference,” she noted further.

The CCELD is geared at building the capacity of leaders selected from Government, business, labour and civil society across the Caribbean and Canada.

The 2015 programme, which concludes on October 4, got underway on September 20 under the theme: ‘Leading through Innovation and Transformation.’

Nine Jamaicans are among the 60 participants in the programme, who have been exposed to practical leadership training, while interacting with leaders during study tours across Canada and the Caribbean.

Her Royal Highness, who is also President of the CCELD, urged the participants to use social media to leverage the networking linkages, make connection with the people they lead, and to advance their organisations.

She further commended the programme’s local planning committee for its efforts to host what she described as a “fantastic” closing period.

 “I am really here to say thank you to all of our participants and your extraordinarily good organisers for what you have achieved, and for your understanding and commitment to buying in to what CCELD has to offer,” she said.

She further expressed the hope that the participants have been sufficiently inspired by the programme to encourage others to take part.

Director of the Mona GeoInformatics Institute at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Dr. Parris Lyew-Ayee, who received a standing ovation for his keynote address at the closing ceremony, also reminded the participants that they have a duty to effect change and make a difference in their respective countries.

Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Patrick Allen, along with former Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Professor Sir Kenneth Hall, were present at the ceremony.

Also in attendance was High Commissioner to the UK, Her Excellency Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, who is CCELD Co-Chair and a former programme participant.

Co-Chair, and Senior Vice President, Caribbean Region, Scotia Bank, Bruce Bowen, brought remarks.