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KINGSTON — The Jamaica 50 Secretariat is calling on members of the public to assist with the staging of activities planned to commemorate the country’s 50th year of independence next year.  Project Director, Jamaica 50th Secretariat, Lenford Salmon, said recruitment of volunteers will take place primarily through the Secretariat’s website at: www.jamaica50.com Mr. Salmon was speaking yesterday (December 20), at...

At least 290 National Youth Service (NYS) trainees are turning the pages of success, in dealing with the weaknesses which exist in the procurement and distribution of textbooks at high, junior high and all-age schools. So far, they have helped the Media Services Unit of the Ministry of Education to collect for re-distribution some $350 million worth of government-issued textbooks,...

The YB Afraid Foundation established by  world sprinter, Yohan Blake, has joined  with the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) in adopting the Mount Olivet Boys' Home in Walderston, Manchester. This partnership resulted in a day of excitement and gifts for the residents of the Home on Saturday, December 17, as the JIS Management and Staff and the YB Afraid Foundation were...

KINGSTON — Plans for the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations next year are well advanced, with the  activities  set to  begin on Sunday, January 1, with fireworks  on the  waterfront, downtown Kingston, and  at various locations across the island. The celebrations, with the slogan ‘Jamaica 50: Feel the heart and soul of a nation’,  will   culminate in a similar manner on...

KINGSTON — A licensing and merchandising programme is currently in place to ensure that Jamaica reaps all the benefits from its 50th anniversary celebrations next year. “Our licensing and merchandising programme serves two purposes, one to give greater visibility to Brand Jamaica…and as a revenue earner,” Project Director, Jamaica 50th Secretariat, Lenford Salmon, said today (December 20), at a JIS...

The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has called on the society to be more vigilant of the care and protection of children and to report cases of abuse including neglect to the Office of the Children’s Registry.  The Minister’s latest appeal comes in light of a recent report that a teenager who had been ill...

KINGSTON — The United Kingdom leg of the global celebrations to mark Jamaica’s 50th year of Independence in 2012 was launched yesterday (Tuesday) in London. The programme of activities in the UK will begin in January and continue throughout the year in major cities and towns including London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds and Reading. The celebration activities involve concerts, fashions show,...

KINGSTON — The CARICOM Youth Development Action Plan (CYDAP) is a critical component in ensuring integration of youth policies and programmes in the various countries in the region, says Directorof Youth Policy and Programme Development at the National Centre for Youth Development (NYCD), Roberta Brown Ellis. She noted that this will ensure that specific policies and programmes are in place...

KINGSTON — Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, the Hon Olivia "Babsy" Grange, has come to the aid of a 30-year-old man, who was sentenced, last month, to three month’s imprisonment for stealing ackees from a farm on the King's House property, home of Jamaica's Governor-General. The man, Junior Christie, has been given a $30,000 bail by the same judge...

KINGSTON — The completion of an unfinished building to reduce overcrowding at the Granville Child Care Facility in Trelawny, will be the focus of this year's National Prayer Vigil project. The building was startedfour years ago, to facilitate counselling sessions and alleviate overcrowding but it has remained unfinished since due to a lack of finances. The National Prayer Vigil was...

KINGSTON — With construction of the St. Catherine Youth Information Centre (YIC) and training facility slated to begin this month, stakeholders involved in youth development are lauding the Government initiative, stating that it will bring renewed hope for the parish's young people. Chairman of the St. Catherine Parish Development Committee (PDC), Earl Hyde, said the project is one of the...

KINGSTON — The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange, has announced the appointment of a new Board of Social Development Commission (SDC). The members have been presented with instruments of appointment and will serve for three years, effective immediately. Former chairman, Lloyd Pommells, has been re-appointed to that position, but the new Deputy Chairman is Silvera Castro,...