Young Jamaicans in the UK Urged to Join Diaspora Movement

High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), Burchell Whiteman has charged young people of Jamaican heritage in the UK, to become part of the process to develop the Diaspora movement.
Mr. Whiteman, who was addressing the inaugural meeting of the Jamaica Diaspora Youth UK, held recently at the offices of the High Commission in London, noted that, “the time in which we live demand concerted action and informed, intelligent advocacy if our citizens are to enjoy a satisfactory and quality life.”
According to the High Commissioner, there are other ethnic and national groups around the world that have a very high profile and ensure that their citizens and those they speak for are adequately represented.
“People know about them, people hear about their concerns and those concerns reach the highest level of deliberation. We have to get to the point that when the Jamaica Diaspora speaks, people listen and you have to be a part of that process,” he stated.
Mr. Whiteman further advised the young people “to arm yourselves with information related to matters that affect you and your connections in Jamaica and which will be of use to you in your efforts to counter . misinformation and that will let you relate to .UK policy and development trends that affect you and your life.”
The meeting of young people is one of the directives coming out of the Jamaica Diaspora UK’s first conference held in April 2005.
Following brain-storming sessions, the young people pledged to work to change the image of young black people in the UK and to tackle issues of development, social inclusion and racism.
They also pointed to the need to promote the true culture, history and identity of Jamaica, and called on the government and private sector to do more to attract young persons of Jamaican heritage to work and live in Jamaica.
The meeting also agreed to the setting up of youth committees in the six existing UK Diaspora regions. Mr. Whiteman commended the UK Diaspora for convening the meeting, noting that, “many people for a long time said we needed to find ways to engage people, who are Jamaican, or of Jamaican connection or ancestry and now it’s beginning to happen”.
“I commend the board members for identifying the need to ensure that the younger generation are part of the structure and for arranging the meeting to start that process,” he stated.