MFAFT Demystifies Diplomacy at Diaspora Conference

Diplomacy is often viewed as a world of high-level meetings and formal engagements.

However, attendees at the 11th biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference were given a different perspective.

Through its inaugural booth in the Marketplace, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) sought to demystify diplomacy by highlighting the many ways its work touches the lives of citizens.

“For 22 years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been organising this Diaspora Conference with our legacy partners, and we’ve never had a booth. This year, we thought it was very important that we could use the opportunity to demystify diplomacy, to explain to Jamaicans at home and abroad what we do daily and how foreign policy is relevant to their lives,” Undersecretary, Multilateral Affairs, MFAFT and former Ambassador to Japan, Ambassador Shorna-Kay Richards, tells JIS News.

She further points out that the booth’s design reflects a key principle of diplomacy – dialogue.

Featuring a living-room-style setting complete with sofas and conversational spaces, the display encouraged visitors to engage directly with Ministry officials in a relaxed environment.

“The idea of the sitting room is to showcase that we are a country that believes in dialogue and diplomacy. Jamaica is a country of friends to all and enemies to none, and we want to sit down and negotiate and talk and see how we can arrive at solutions that are mutually beneficial to Jamaica and our partner countries,” Ambassador Richards says.

A central goal of the exhibition was to translate diplomatic language into terms that citizens could easily understand.

Ambassador Richards notes that while much of the Ministry’s work takes place behind the scenes, it influences a wide range of sectors and opportunities that citizens benefit from daily.

“The concept is, how can we speak about the Ministry’s work in language that the ordinary Jamaican can relate to. So instead of saying we do bilateral engagement, [we say], we open doors for export opportunities, for growing domestic agriculture,” she explains.

Visitors to the booth were engaged in a range of activities aimed at educating them.

These included information sessions on consular services and export support, one-on-one conversations with diplomats dubbed ‘Meet the Ambassador’, and a game called ‘Dip in the Diplomatic Bag’, where visitors could answer questions and learn more about the Ministry’s work.

Ambassador Richards points out that one of the main messages conveyed to visitors was that the Ministry works on behalf of Jamaicans across the globe through a network of 20 overseas missions and approximately 80 honorary consuls.

“We protect Jamaicans overseas. So, whether they are living there or travelling, they lose their passport, they will find the consulate or the embassy [and] we assist them,” the Ambassador states.

She further indicates that the Ministry’s support extends beyond routine consular services to assisting Jamaicans facing a range of challenging circumstances overseas.

“We have Jamaicans who are incarcerated, we have to visit them in prison and see how we can support them. Your loved one passed away overseas and you want to have the body shipped back to Jamaica, we have to assist,” she says.

The Ambassador adds that the Ministry also coordinates assistance for citizens caught in conflict zones and emergencies, and supports stranded Jamaicans, including fishermen and persons unable to return home during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, through conversations with visitors to the booth, the Ministry was able to highlight its contribution to economic growth and development, an area that many people do not readily associate with diplomacy.

“People don’t know that we create opportunities for Jamaicans locally. We are negotiating agreements that allow Jamaica to sell mangoes [for example] to the United States. We sell our coffee to Japan and, of course, we are the ones who help to negotiate those arrangements that allow our farmers to sell their coffee,” she says.

The Ambassador notes that the Ministry’s work also supports Jamaica’s tourism industry through agreements that facilitate international travel and connectivity.

“We negotiate air services agreements that allow the tourist to come to Jamaica on those airlines. So, we are connected to every single ministry, department and agency in this country. We are behind the scenes working quietly,” she says.

The exhibition also highlighted the Ministry’s role in securing opportunities and support for Jamaicans through international partnerships.

Ambassador Richards notes that these efforts range from facilitating scholarships offered by foreign governments, to securing grants that support national development initiatives.

Drawing on her experience as Jamaica’s former Ambassador to Japan, Ambassador Richards points to several examples of how international cooperation has benefited the country.

“I have a good example from Japan because during the hurricane, we had an emergency communication system throughout the parishes that the Local Government Ministry used. It was a $16 billion grant from the Japanese Government that established that emergency system. The Ministry of National Security received some patrol vessels, it was Jamaica’s relationship with Japan that allowed that to happen,” she explains.

For Ambassador Richards, one of the most rewarding outcomes of having a booth in the Marketplace was the response from conference participants.

Many visitors indicated that they were learning about the Ministry’s work for the first time.

“The fact that people were commenting on how they were learning something new and that they appreciate the Ministry’s work, including organising this Diaspora Conference, there has been very positive feedback,” she says.

Ambassador Richards says the positive response reinforced the value of public education and engagement.

“We are happy that we are using this showcase to demystify what we do for Jamaicans every day, everywhere on the global stage,” she says.

Ambassador Richards hopes the success of the booth will encourage continued public engagement and foster a greater appreciation of how diplomacy contributes to Jamaica’s development, prosperity and global standing.

The 11th biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference was held from June 14-18 in Montego Bay, under the theme, ‘Diaspora Partnerships: Re-Building a More Resilient Jamaica’.

The conference welcomed more than 1,200 participants and provided a platform for engagement on issues critical to Jamaica’s development and diaspora relations.