Six persons have been elected to serve
on the Northeast United States Diaspora Advisory
Board.
The electees include Kenneth Guscott, Jamaica's
Honorary Consul to Massachusetts, representing Massachusetts;
Ambassador Curtis Ward, representing Maryland and
Washington, D.C.; Councilwoman Elsa Foster Dublin,
representing New Jersey; Shirley Irons, representing
New York; Andrew Lawrence, representing Connecticut;
and Donna Hugh Bailey, representing Pennsylvania
and Delaware. The six were elected at the first Northeast
US Diaspora Conference held at the Washington Plaza
Hotel in Washington, D.C recently.
Dr. Harold Mignott, Chairman of the Northeast Diaspora
Advisory Committee, informed that the members would
represent their individual states and interface with
various communities, thereby bringing their concerns
to the Board.
He noted that the creation of this
new Board was a step in the right direction in
order to ensure
that each state was given proper representation. "The
Board will meet once each month and all the concerns
will be presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Dr.
Mignott explained.
In his address, Jamaica's Ambassador to the United
States, Professor Gordon Shirley said the Jamaican
Diaspora had a significant contribution to make to
the continued development of Jamaica.
The Diaspora Advisory Board will
act as the link between the government and Jamaicans
living overseas. "It
is the Advisory Board's responsibility to inform
the government on issues related to the governance
and organization of the way in which our communities
will interact," Professor Shirley said.
Meanwhile, in his remarks, JLP Spokesman
on Tourism and the Diaspora, Edmund Bartlett, noted
that "the
Diaspora represents the most formidable source of
influence that Jamaica has today". More than
200 Jamaicans attended the conference.
Derrick
A. Scott
JIS Washington
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