1,000 Attendees Expected for 10th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference

Some 1,000 Jamaicans from across the globe are expected to converge at the Montego Bay Conference Centre in St. James from June 16 to 19 for the 10th biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference.

This year’s staging will be the first time the highly anticipated conference is being held in person since the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was launched on Thursday (April 4) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in downtown Kingston, under the theme ‘United for Jamaica’s transformation: fostering peace, productivity and youth empowerment’.

Portfolio Minister and keynote speaker at the global launch, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, said that the theme affirms “the importance that we place on coming together to craft our future, to focus on the pillars of transformation and, indeed, to overcome the most pressing challenges of our time together”.

She noted that the conference has become a time-honoured and significant event on Jamaica’s national calendar, with this year’s staging promising to be rewarding and productive, allowing for reflection on what has been accomplished “but perhaps even more importantly, to look at what we can and will do together”.

She is imploring Jamaicans at home and overseas to participate.

“Quite simply, at this conference, connections will be made, partnerships will be born, some will be strengthened, business opportunities are going to be created; you have to be there to be a part of it all. The experience will be that much richer if you are on the ground, and for those of you who have come before, you know it’s good and this one is going to be better,” the Minister said.

In his address, State Minister, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, said that the 1,000 anticipated participants will hail from all over the world – Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the traditional areas in North America and Europe.

“If the reception and interest we have experienced, so far, from our all-of-society and multi-stakeholder engagement are anything to go by, we can all be assured that this conference will reignite the movement and further strengthen our connections,” he noted.

Providing an overview of conference activities, he informed that the tradition of honouring diaspora members who have worked hard and made significant contributions in their communities will be continued and, as such, the Governor-General’s Award for Excellence, will be a feature this year.

“Our usual Market Place and Government at Your Service will be available, along with a range of other goods and services that we can assure will be of interest to you. There will be other exciting offerings that will certainly make your attendance at the conference a worthwhile venture, but we will not announce all of them today as we want you to come down and enjoy the experience,” the State Minister said.

Mr. Terrelonge informed that the online registration portal for the conference is expected to be up and running on April 4.

Other features of the conference will be interactive panel discussions, keynote speakers, a church service and an opening ceremony.

The main address will be delivered by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, and the event will conclude with the hugely popular Diaspora Day of Service.