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Just over 50 delegates from the United States (US) northeast region are confirmed for the two-day Jamaica Diaspora conference, which gets underway on Wednesday June 15 in Ocho Rios, St. Ann. Diaspora Advisory Board Member for the region, Patrick Beckford, said the number is less than in previous years, noting that the effects of the recession had impacted the amount...

Over 20 groups and individuals have delivered items in traditional folk forms, at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s (JCDC) Finals of the National Festival of the Performing Arts. The finals, which began on Tuesday at the Little Theatre, Tom Redcam Drive, Kingston, will be held throughout the month, starting at 10:00 a.m., except on June 25, when the Deaf Dance category...

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC), Reginald Budhan, says the ministry has intensified its programme to get laboratories accredited, and business stakeholders certified with the International Standards Organization (ISO). This is to ensure that products being exported meet the stipulated standards of the countries for which they are intended, Mr. Budhan said. He was speaking...

Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal yesterday presented gold awards to some 19 young people from high schools and community groups across the island,for successfully completing various pursuits under the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Jamaica. At a ceremony at King’s House, the youngsters received the highest honour for their outstanding achievement in skill areas, community service, recreation and expedition in...

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) has reported substantial progress in preparing for the implementation of the Community Renewal Programme (CRP) this year. The CRP resulted from Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s mandate to the PIOJ to prepare a programme for long term stability and well-being, inclusive of violent and vulnerable communities and consistent with the goals of Vision 2030, following...

A Policy Logistics Unit has been established at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ),  to monitor, problem-solve and harmonise the government’s plans to implement and adopt elements of the growth inducement strategy across Ministries and agencies. Director General of the PIOJ, Dr. Gladstone Hutchinson made the announcement at the Institute’s quarterly press briefing on May 20. “We have re-assigned, at...

Programme Manager of the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ) Plan Development Unit, Richard Lumsden, has reported significant gains in five key areas pivotal to the success of the National Development Plan, Vision 2030. He cited education status, labour force quality, national security, justice and economic growth as the key areas, and noted that for January to March 2011, progress had...

She had all the warning signs: a lifeless arm, slurred speech, loss of co-ordination and a severe headache: Cynthia Morant was having a stroke. “I remember being at home, when I began to lose feelings in my right hand. I also had shortness of breath, so they rushed me to the hospital, where I stayed for about a week,” she...

President of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Sancia Templer, says that Jamaica is in an excellent position to take advantage of the global trend in wellness tourism, because of its natural resources and first-rate health care professionals. Speaking at a Health and Wellness Tourism Stakeholder Workshop at the Terra Nova Hotel, Kingston on Wednesday, Mrs. Templer noted that there were many...

Governor General, His Excellency Sir Patrick Allen, has underscored the need for the development of partnerships to support the country’s heath care system, to enable it to continue to provide quality service. Addressing the presentation ceremony for medical equipment and supplies donated to the Annotto Bay Hospital by the Issa Trust Foundation on Thursday, May 12, the Governor General said...

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) will be embarking on a series of discussion sessions and workshops across the island, as part of the process to develop the National Policy and Plan of Action on International Migration and Development. Director of the PIOJ’s Social Policy, Planning and Research Division, Easton Williams, told a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday, that the...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding says this year's budget is consistent with a clearly defined, coherent strategy that will facilitate investment and stimulate economic growth. Making his contribution to the 2011/12 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives, Mr. Golding said that the core elements of this strategy includes providing a framework of transparency and accountability so that people...