Diaspora Foundation Targets Nationals in Tennessee

Consul General to the Southern United States, Ricardo Allicock, has encouraged Jamaicans in Tennessee to be part of the Diaspora movement to contribute to the development of their homeland.
Mr. Allicock, who was addressing a lecture/rap session at the Tennessee State University (TSU) in Nashville recently, provided information on the country’s culture, heritage and economic climate, including developments in trade and investment.
Jamaican Diaspora advisory board member to the Southern USA, Marlon Hill, in outlining the development of the Jamaican Diaspora Foundation, spoke about the formalization of the process to connect Jamaicans at home and abroad through the June 2004 conference in Kingston where some 400 persons representing nationals from North America, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean were in attendance.
The biennial conference was again convened last June at the Conference Centre with nearly 600 delegates, with nationals from Africa and Central America also participating.
In encouraging Jamaicans in the audience to be part of the process, Mr. Hill said there were numerous opportunities for them to connect to Jamaica through participation in charitable missions, business development and cultural activities.
The event was hosted by the Jamaican Diaspora of Tennessee, in collaboration with the Fergus-Simpson Foundation, a Nashville-based Jamaican non-profit organization.
Other presenters were Dr. Coreen Jackson and Dr. Orville Bignall, professors at TSU and Kimara Tomlin, Executive Director of the Fergus-Simpson Foundation.