Diaspora Project Will Foster Development of Young Jamaicans – State Minister Brown

Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Arnaldo Brown, has hailed the Diaspora Youth Connect Project, noting that the initiative will provide for the growth and development of the country’s young people, particularly those deemed at risk.

The project, which was launched on Thursday, October 17, at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) offices in Kingston, aims to utilise the skills and talents of youth in the Diaspora in assisting vulnerable and ambitious young people in Jamaica to realise their full potential in entrepreneurship.

According to Mr. Brown, targeting young, vibrant, energetic young people in the Diaspora, who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise with youth in Jamaica, will bring fresh views to key areas such as technology, including its uses and applications.

“In keeping with our National Youth Policy, we must press on in ensuring that Jamaican youth realise their full potential, and, through access to opportunities, develop, participate and contribute as responsible citizens to a peaceful, prosperous and caring society,” he stated.

Mr. Brown said that the initiative forms part of the Government’s thrust to engage the Diaspora for national development.

He noted that the Jamaican Diaspora represents a group that is patriotic, dynamic and willing to share with their homeland, and the Government of Jamaica, through its Diaspora Policy, is seeking to maximise these attributes.

“For us, the engagement of the Diaspora is about the development of a symbiotic relationship with reciprocal benefit,” Mr. Brown said.

“This project will deepen and strengthen their connections to their roots thereby, inculcating in them, a sense of pride of being Jamaican. This project will also foster mentorship and loyalty towards their motherland, an outcome which is critical to the sustainability of the Diaspora movement,” he added.

The Diaspora Youth Connect Project represents a collaborative effort involving the Jamaican Diaspora Institute, Cuso International, and the University of the West Indies (UWI) Township.

The initiative seeks to leverage human and financial resources that are located in the Diaspora to strengthen the capacity, the entrepreneurial and business management, community development, youth empowerment/mobilisation, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills, in a number of inner-city communities.