Parallel diaspora conference to put spotlight on gov’t corruption, crime

A parallel diaspora conference has been announced by organisers for June 16-19, coinciding with the 10th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference to be held at the Montego Bay Conference Center in Montego Bay, St James.

Billed as the ‘First Biennial Diaspora Conference’, the organisers, Dr Rupert Francis, head of the Diaspora Crime Intervention and Prevention Task Force, and Willfred Rattigan, said the conference would be held from 7 p.m. -10 p.m. each day. They said that this diaspora conference will be held on social media platforms.

During a launch of the conference on April 5, the organisers listed the theme of their conference as ‘Promise and peace’.

According to Francis, the Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay is being organised by the Government of Jamaica and not the people in the diaspora.

He further stated that issues of importance to the diaspora are not being addressed by the Jamaica Diaspora Conference.

Francis listed among the issues to be discussed at his group’s diaspora conference as government corruption, crime and security, health care and government engagement with members of the diaspora, among others.

While Francis claimed that none of these issues are scheduled to be discussed at the Jamaica Diaspora Conference, it was suggested by speakers taking part during the April 4 launch in Kingston that crime and security, health care, and investment in Jamaica by Jamaicans in the diaspora will be among the agenda areas which have not yet been officially released.

The Jamaica Diaspora Conference hopes to attract some 1,000 people to Jamaica for the conference along with a worldwide audience which will be able to participate on social media platforms.

The conference will also have a marketplace where Jamaican-owned businesses in the diaspora will be able to advertise, as well as make connections with similar Jamaican businesses to increase their sales and visibility.

The idea of the parallel conference has drawn mixed reactions from some members of the Jamaican diaspora.

Some people who spoke with The Gleaner questioned the motives of the organisers, while others felt that the Jamaica Diaspora Conference should be organised by members of the diaspora and not the government.

‘A source for confusion’

Peter Gracey, Global Diaspora Council member for the southern US region, said he was aware of the parallel conference and suggested that there needed to be a sit-down to rectify what is going on.

“No one owns the diaspora so anyone can announce and hold a diaspora conference, but the use of the logo by the group hosting this conference is a source for confusion,” he said.

Gracey said he has received several calls from members of the diaspora expressing confusion about the conferences.

He said people should not follow the noise, but pay attention to the information coming from the Global Diaspora Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.

“Everyone means well for Jamaica, but the confusion is not helpful,” he said.

Dr Allan Cunningham, former global Diaspora Council board member for the southern US region, said the organisers were well within their rights to organise such a conference, but he would have hoped that they would have chosen different dates from the conference being held in Jamaica.

“Everyone is entitled to do what he/she wants to do and I suspect that the conference here will not include the agenda of the conference in Jamaica,” he said.

Cunningham said that he is not expecting anything negative to come out of the conference being organised here.

editorial@gleanerjm.com