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Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, praised several Jamaicans as he highlighted the accomplishments and achievements of the black community in Canada at the 27th annual Harry Jerome Awards ceremony held recently in Toronto. Mr. Harper, who was the guest speaker at the Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA)-organised event, lauded businessman, Michael Lee-Chin, as a "brilliant Jamaican Canadian businessman and...

The Caribbean community overseas is being urged to contribute to the rebuilding process in Haiti. CARICOM's special representative on Haiti, the Most Hon. P.J. Patterson, has said that the Caribbean Diaspora has a great role to play in ensuring that the redevelopment of Haiti moves forward smoothly and speedily. "There are skills and resources, which reside within the Diaspora, which...

Fifty farm workers are to leave the island Tuesday (May 4) for Washington D.C., having received a charge from the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, that they pave the way for more Jamaicans to begin going to that city for work. The 50 men are part of a group of 300 that will be dispatched to...

Jamaica's Consul General to Toronto, Mr. George Ramocan is urging all Jamaican organisations in Canada to come together and form a 'Joint Council of Jamaican Canadian Diaspora Organisations'. He said this would not only create greater cohesiveness among the groups but also fulfill the objectives set by the Diaspora representation and the Government of Jamaica at the first ever Diaspora...

The Jamaican Diaspora UK is preparing for the fourth Biennial Jamaican Diaspora Conference, which will be held in Ocho Rios from June 14 to 17 this year. A special pre conference meeting was held by the group last weekend in Birmingham, to discuss a range of topics and issues that will form part of the UK group's input on the...

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Olivia Grange, says Jamaica will bid to host Carifesta in 2012, which could be one of the highlights of the country's 50th Independence anniversary celebrations. Speaking at a dinner/reception given by the Jamaica Trade Council of Greater Philadelphia, honouring outgoing Jamaican Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Anthony Johnson and Mrs. Johnson,...

More than 140 high school students were recognised for successfully completing various pursuits under the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Jamaica, at an awards ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, Kingston on Tuesday (April 27). The awards programme, a character-building initiative, allows young people aged 14 to 25 years to participate in activities aimed at fostering personal and social development. Persons...

Fourteen CARICOM countries and Brazil signed the Brasilia Declaration at the end of the first Brazil-CARICOM Summit in Brasilia on Monday (April 26). Jamaica's Prime Minister, the Hon Bruce Golding and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the Brazil-CARICOM Summit in Brasilia. Jamaica's Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, was among 11 Heads of Government who attended the...

A Cultural Tribute/Memorial Service to celebrate the life of the late former Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Professor Rex Nettleford, was held recently at the Revivaltime Tabernacle, one of the largest churches in Toronto. The event featured the Dancers of Toronto, an impressive group of young persons dancing to a variety of music and dub poetry,...

Jamaican born Donald Williams will make history in the town of Rugby located in Warwickshire, England on May 20, when he is installed as the town's first Afro-Caribbean Mayor. "It is a great achievement for me and for the West Indian community. It means that we are being recognised for our contributions to the town," he told JIS News in...

Growing up in Newport, Manchester in the 1950s, Yvonne Blackwood had a fascination for Africa, thanks to her grandmother, who was an excellent storyteller. "I think I was probably about four or five when my grandmother told us the story about her grandfather who used to say he was 'Ashanti', whenever he was angry. He had gotten that information from...

Representatives from the Trinidad and Tobago Vision 2020 Office will be among a special contingent that will visit Jamaica from April 26 to May 1, to meet with representatives from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), the national focal point for the implementation of the Vision 2030 Jamaica National Development Plan. According to the PIOJ's Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, Mrs....