Diaspora conference in danger of missing attendance target
Published:Tuesday | May 21, 2024 | 12:09 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
With less than a month to go to the opening of the 10th Biennial Diaspora Conference, the attendance target of 1,000 participants from the diaspora will not be realised if registration continues at its current pace.
During the official launch of the conference in April, at the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in downtown Kingston, conference planners announced that they were expecting 1,000 diasporans to attend the first in-person conference since the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, checks by The Gleaner have revealed that registration is lagging, and persons associated with the conference now do not expect it to reach that target of 1,000 overseas participants.
While there has been an intensification of efforts to up registration, the numbers expected from overseas are looking increasingly distant.
Michelle Tulloch-Neil, the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council member for the United States (US) Northeast region, told The Gleaner that she was expecting 10 people who will make up her delegation to the conference. However, she was unable to say how many from the Northeast have either registered for the conference or will be registering for the conference.
Peter Gracey, Global Jamaica Diaspora Council member for the Southern region of the US, said so far, he knows of 25 people who have registered or say they are going to the conference.
He further indicated that he did not have an overall figure of people who have already registered or would be registering from the Southern US region.
The Jamaican Consulate in New York has already seen an increase in the numbers registering for the conference but was also unable to say how many would be attending.
“We have seen an increase due to our efforts, and we will be pushing to have even more people registered for the conference, but at this point, we cannot say what the final numbers will be,” a spokesperson told The Gleaner.
The consulate is also pushing to get a number of youth sponsored to attend the conference.
The consulate in Miami has also stepped up its efforts to get people registered but cannot say how many will eventually attend the conference.
“We will be sponsoring a number to attend the conference,” a spokesperson for that mission told The Gleaner.
The conference is to be held at the Montego Bay Conference Centre in St James from June 16 to June 19.
The partner hotels in Montego Bay are also not reporting any significant registration at this time from people who will be attending the conference.
However, several people who spoke with The Gleaner about attending the conference have said that they will be staying at alternative accommodations to the hotels.
Alando Terrelonge, minister of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade with responsibility for the Diaspora, told The Gleaner that registration is going well but did not provide figures as to how many have already registered for the conference.
At the same time, the early bird special for registering for the conference has been extended. The registration fee is US$160 per person for the three days.
According to Terrelonge, the registration process is ongoing.
“People can register for the conference at any time, even throughout the conference,” he said.
He added that participants in the conference will hear from a number of people from the diaspora who will share their knowledge with participants. They include Dr Trisha Bailey, head of Bailey’s Medical Equipment Supplies and Pharmacy; David Mullings of Blue Mahoe Capital; Byron Dixon, out of the United Kingdom; a deputy commissioner of police from the US; as well as other prominent diasporans.
“We will be placing emphasis on how Jamaicans in the diaspora can invest in Jamaica for themselves as well as build generational wealth,” he said.
The conference will get in full swing on the morning of June 17 and run throughout the day with several plenary and break-out sessions under the theme ‘Jamaica Is Open For Business’.
Investments, healthcare, education, crime and security, agriculture and agri-business will be among the topics to be covered during the conference, including a fireside chat with Jamaica’s new police commissioner, Dr Kevin Blake.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness will deliver the keynote address on Tuesday morning.
The Diaspora Day of Service will take place on June 20.