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WASHINGTON, DC — Ambassador to the United States (US), Her Excellency Audrey Marks, is urging Jamaicans to renew the commitment to fulfilling the promises created by Independence. “The commemoration of Independence is a time to renew our resolve to give true meaning to the ideals of unity, self-determination, self-government, self-reliance, self-rule, and self-sufficiency. “In this 49th year of being fully...

MONTEGO BAY — Hundreds of Trelawny residents turned out at Water Square, in Falmouth, on Saturday, August 6, to join in the nation’s celebration of its 49th anniversary of independence. The celebration, which took the form of a civic ceremony, was hosted by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and the Trelawny Parish Council. “While we celebrate our independence, we...

TORONTO — Consul General to Toronto, Seth George Ramocan, says activities in the city to celebrate Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence next year, will showcase the best of the island. He was speaking at the annual JAMBANA Festival at Downsview Park in Toronto, where the community launch of Jamaica 50 in Toronto and Jamaica Homecoming took place. Mr. Ramocan told...

KINGSTON — The National Stadium was transformed into a sea of black, gold and green on Saturday August 6, as thousands of proud Jamaicans, clad in the national colours, gathered to celebrate the country's 49th anniversary of independence in the usual grand style. The audience exuberantly waved Jamaican flags, blew horns, rocked and swayed in response to the mix of...

KINGSTON — The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) will be extending its services on Independence Day, Saturday August 6 to facilitate persons getting home after the Grand Gala at the National Stadium in Kingston. The extension of the service will see buses running past their regular hours on select routes. These include, those running between the National Stadium and the...

My fellow Jamaicans: I extend warm greetings to you as our nation celebrates forty-nine years of Independence.  It is without question that August 6, 1962 represented a watershed moment in our history.  That historic date was the sum total of the contribution of our forebears to nation-building occasioned by their passionate belief that Jamaicans deserved the freedom to determine their...

My fellow Jamaicans, at home and in the Diaspora, today marks the 49th Anniversary of our Nation’s Independence.  For us, this is a significant milestone for many reasons.  Since our Independence, we have had the privilege, the honour and the responsibility of charting our own path to development in this dynamic global community. Some of us will remember the pride...

WASHINGTON — Their Excellencies Governor-General, the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, and Lady Allen, will head a list of dignitaries joining Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica in Washington, D.C. to mark the nation’s 49th year of Independence, at the annual Service of Thanksgiving on Sunday, August 7. The service will be held at the Dumbarton Chapel, Howard University’s School of...

LONDON — An Evensong was held at Westminster Abbey, in London, on August 1, to mark the island's 49th Anniversary of Independence. Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Joan Thomas and her husband, Albert, were special guests at the ceremony. The Jamaican flag was flown at the Abbey, and Deputy High Commissioner Thomas read one of the lessons. Evensong...

TORONTO — Jamaicans are being urged to take up the baton of nation building left by the country's forefathers. The charge came from Jamaican-born Senior Pastor of the Victory Sanctuary of Praise in Canada, Rev. Dr. William Lee, who was delivering the sermon at the annual Independence Church Service, held at Faith Sanctuary Pentecostal Church in Toronto on Sunday July...

The Independence Grand Gala at the National Stadium on Saturday will be an exciting celebration of Jamaica's musical culture, as the nation marks 49 years of Independence. The Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia Grange, who has responsibility for the Independence celebrations, says Grand Gala 2011 will celebrate the “nation’s creativity”. Minister Grange said that all of Jamaica’s musical...

KINGSTON — The National Youth Service (NYS) is pleased with the progress of the Steps- to-Work summer camps now underway in Portland and St. Thomas. “They are going well. Enrollment is almost 100 per cent at all of the camps,” said the organisation's Acting Executive Director, Alan Beckford, in a recent interview with JIS News. Some 1,300 high school dropouts,...