Latest News

Caribbean countries that were devastated by hurricanes Irma and Maria during the recent hurricane season will benefit from donations received through the JN Foundation’s ‘Help Our Caribbean Neighbours’ campaign, which was mounted on its ISupport Jamaica funding site.

The campaign, launched in October, resulted in members of the public and employees of companies and organisations in the Jamaica National Group donating to the cause.

Rose Miller, grants manager at JN Foundation, who officially handed over the contributions to United Way of Jamaica on Thursday, December 21 at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew, commended persons who responded to the campaign.

“We are grateful to those who contributed, having seen the need to reach out to our Caribbean neighbours. We are always seeking opportunities to help others.The Jamaica National Group plays an integral role regionally, therefore, we endeavour to reach out when there is a need,” Miller said.

BENEFITING FAMILIES

Winsome Wilkins, chief executive officer of United Way of Jamaica, expressed gratitude to the JN Foundation and members of the public who supported the campaign.

“Our thanks to JN Foundation, which is a serious partner with us in the voluntary sector. We value their support,” she said, explaining that the funds will be merged with a larger pool of funds to be used in the rehabilitation and restoration process and help families in those islands to pursue economic activities.

“There is a pool of funds that will be allocated to the Salvation Army and to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, which are already on the ground doing work, and identifying the families that would benefit,” she said.

Wilkins said that the campaign, organised by United Way across Jamaica, has already received some $3 million in contributions to the hurricane relief effort. This, she said, was in addition to in-kind contributions.

“The campaign was successful, and of course, for us at United Way, rehabilitation and restoration are areas which we focus on in times of disaster,” she said.

Several islands were affected by the hurricanes, which moved across the northern Caribbean leaving a trail of death and destruction. Some of the countries to benefit from the contributions from Jamaica, are Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, Dominica, and Haiti.

See the original article here!

“Moneybags… he loves Christmas! Moneybags… that’s for sure! Moneybags… he loves Christmas, Christmas he adores!”

Tens of children hummed the new jazzy ‘carol’ as they exited the Dennis Scott Studio Theatre at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts after viewing A Carol for Moneybags, recently.

A Jamaicanised revue of Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Christmas Carol, also known simply as Scrooge for its popular protagonist/antagonist, A Carol for Moneybags presents a delightful Jamaican adaptation of the old, miserly businessman, who castigates his employees and others for spreading holiday cheer and kindness.

However, similar to Ebenezer Scrooge in the classic tale, old Egbert Moneybags discovers the true meaning of Christmas, and becomes a reformed man after meeting four ‘Chrismusduppies’, visions, which are suggested to be triggered by an undigested meal of stewed peas.

The spirits that visit him include his former business partner, ‘Interest’, who has received a second chance at life as a dreadlocked small farmer and has returned to warn Moneybags to repent; and interestingly, not the Grim Reaper himself, standing ghastly with his sickle, but the media, which is positioned as the ‘Ghost of Christmas Future’, enlightening Moneybags, via a newscast, about the lonely, miserable death that awaits him if he fails to repent.

The audience of youngsters, and even adults, heartily shared in Moneybags’ repentance by the end of the musical.

“Give him a second chance,” one boy pleaded, as the live television cameras focused on him for an opinion on the fate of old Moneybags.

However, not everyone was forgiving. “Him too mean and miserable,” another child murmured.

Whatever they thought about old Moneybags, the lesson was clear: Christmas is about giving and sharing, just as Christ was born to give his life to save the human race.

… Moneybags brings music back to season
The close to 100 children, parents, and teachers attending the performance from the George Headley and Harbour View primary schools in St Andrew laughed excitedly, as the Grinch-like Moneybags hissed and huffed, and shouted and shoved, even when his frail old body seemed unable to do the job.

“The children enjoyed it thoroughly. It was funny, and it certainly brought back the music in Christmas!” commented Arlene Lewis, a teacher of the George Headley Primary School in Duhaney Park, St Andrew.

She added that the A Christmas Carol adaptation, A Carol for Moneybags, made the classic story more relatable to the children, and that it was a good way to continue exposing them to theatre and the performing arts.

“Thanks to JN Bank for inviting us and for also including the teachers and coaches of our quiz team,” she concluded. “Even up until now, the children are running around the school singing Moneybags.”

George Headley are the 2017 champions of Television Jamaica Junior Schools’ Challenge Quiz competition.

Chevanese Peters, project officer at the JN Foundation, explained that the performance was sponsored through the JN Bank Member Advisory Councils from the Half-Way Tree, Duke Street, and downtown Kingston branches of the bank.

“They simply wanted to do something for children that would not simply fete them for the Christmas, but provide them with ideas and concepts to underscore the meaning of Christmas,” Peters said.

The advisory councils include employees of JN Bank branches and community members, who identify and implement projects to benefit youngsters and adults in the communities where JN Bank branches are located across the country.

“A Carol for Moneybags provided a fun and meaningful way to achieve our objective,” Peters said. “It certainly raised the spirits of the youngsters,” she quipped. “From their comments, it was clear that many of them got the message.”

A Carol for Moneybags showcases a cast of students currently studying at the Edna College of the Visual and Performing Arts, and is the second production of the School of Drama for the academic year. It is written by renowned playwright and journalist Barbara Gloudon and is directed by dramaturge and director of the School of Drama, Pierre Lemaire. It also features original songs by Conroy Cooper and choreography by Patrick Earle.

See the original article here!

Avi Silverman, deputy director of the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) Foundation, commended the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Jamaica National Group for the establishment of a new state-of-the-art Road Safety Hub at the Elletson Road Police Station in Kingston.

Silverman, who was in Jamaica for the Child Health Initiative /NRSC Safety Policy Forum, toured the Road Safety Hub earlier this month.

“What is amazing in Jamaica is the level of collaborations among the police, the National Works Agency, the Mona Geoinformatics Institute, and the private sector. It is incredible,” said, as he observed the real-time road crash and network data, which is available to the Traffic and Highway Division of the JCF.

Head of the Traffic Division senior superintendent Calvin Allen said that through these partnerships, the new facility has provided information which helps the Division to train its personnel and to better strategise.

“This is live information as to traffic flow at certain points in the Corporate Area. While this will be used as a teaching point, we also use it as a means of re-deploying our officers if we need to. So by monitoring, we can see whether there is a collision at a point, whether congestion exists, and we would use this information to redeploy our resources if necessary,” he said.

The Road Safety Hub was made possible through a public-private partnership with the JN General Insurance Company Limited (JNGI), the Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA), the JN Foundation, and the FIA Foundation.

“We believe in partnership, and we have partnered with several companies, but the JN Foundation is out front, like a Usain Bolt, to make this Road Safety Hub a reality. Thanks to the JN Foundation, (which) has come on board and did all the lobbying for us to establish this facility,” he added.

Onyka Barrett-Scott, partnership and development manager at the JN Foundation, commended the FIA for its support to the initiatives of the JN Foundation.

“We are really grateful to the FIA Foundation for this continued partnership with the JAA and, as a result, we were able to deepen our collaboration with the JCF and other partners based on your support,” she said.

The Road Safety Hub was opened last month by Prime Minister Andrew Holness. It also serves as a community resource centre for residents in the proximity of the Hub.

See the original article here!

Thirty-five social enterprises, nurtured by the Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI) both as members of the SEBI incubator and the SEBI open network, have received their official Buy Social trademark, to assist prospective consumers in identifying their products, services and social missions.

The objective is to increase consumer demand and enhance the management of their enterprises. The Buy Social trademark and advertising campaign were launched at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in Kingston recently.

Saffrey Brown, General Manager, JN Foundation, said that the unique mark will signal to consumers that the business bearing it is a social enterprise.“When you buy from a social enterprise, you are choosing to spend your money with a business that is giving something back,” Brown explained. “They reinvest their profits to address the most pressing social issues in their community, such as unemployment.”

The project manager said that the four-month campaign which commenced earlier this month, will include advertising on television, radio and newspapers; as well as, on buses and digital billboards.

Scheed Cole, Manager of 360 Recycle Manufacturing, one of the social enterprises which will benefit from the initiative, said, “we are working with grassroots people, so that they can earn sustainable income. We need all the help we can get and, so I am in full support of Buy Social campaign.”

Located on Rousseau Road in the western zone of Kingston, 360 Recycle Manufacturing uses plastic bottles, Styrofoam and paper to create construction materials such as blocks, flower pots and sculptures.

“Once the Buy Social promotion starts, we will get in line with it, and as more people come to know the brand, we expect to create more business for us,” Cole said.

Charles Arumiselvam of Alpha Wear Ja, a unique fashion venture created by the Alpha Boys’ School in Kingston, pointed out that he expects the Buy Social campaign to help the venture.

Armiselvam said, “Alpha Institute is known as having a social mission; but, what the institute is not well known for is the business side of its operation; there, the Buy Social campaign will put us on the map of Jamaica.

“This is a great campaign. It is an important moment for Alpha Institute to be identified as a place where people can come and buy interesting products, and we are grateful to JN Foundation and SEBI to help promote us into the marketplace,” Arumiselvam said.

To be used by the social enterprise practitioners initially in Jamaica, the trademark will be subsequently promoted across the wider Caribbean region. The Buy Social trademark and social advertising campaign comprise the second phase of the SEBI project.

See the original article here!

Thirty-five social enterprises, nurtured by the Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI), have received their official ‘Buy Social’ trademark, which will assist prospective consumers to identify their products, services and social missions. The objective is to increase consumer demand and enhance the management of these enterprises. The Buy Social trade mark and advertising campaign were launched at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in Kingston on Thursday, November 30, 2017.
Saffrey Brown, general manager of JN Foundation said that the unique mark will signal to consumers that the business bearing it is a social enterprise.
“When you buy from a social enterprise, you are choosing to spend your money with a business that is giving something back. They reinvest their profits to address the most pressing social issues in their community, such as unemployment,” Brown explained.
She added that the four-month campaign to commence in this month will include advertising on television, radio and newspapers as well as, on buses and digital bill boards.
“We are working with grassroots people, so that they can earn sustainable income. We need all the help we can get, and so I am in full support of the Buy Social campaign,” said Scheed Cole, manager of 360 Recycle Manufacturing, one of the social enterprises that will benefit from the initiative.
 
Expansion plan
 
Located on Rousseau Road in the western zone of Kingston, 360 Recycle Manufacturing, uses plastic bottles, Styrofoam, and paper to create construction materials such as blocks, flower pots and sculptures. “Once the Buy Social promotion starts, we will get in line with it, and as more people come to know the brand, we expect it to create more business for us,” Cole said.
Charles Arumiselvam of Alpha Wear JA, a unique fashion venture created by the Alpha Boys’ School in Kingston, expects the Buy Social campaign to help the venture. “Alpha Institute is known as a having social mission but what the institute is not well known for is the business side of its operation. therefore, the Buy Social campaign will put us on the map of Jamaica,” he said.
“This is a great campaign. It is an important moment for Alpha Institute to be identified as place where people can come and buy interesting products, and we are grateful to JN Foundation and SEBI to help promote us into the market place,” Arumiselvam added.
The Buy Social trademark, to be used by the social enterprise practitioners initially in Jamaica, will be subsequently promoted across the wider Caribbean region.
The Buy Social trademark and social advertising campaign comprise the second phase of the SEBI project.
-K.H.

See the original article here!

A new report setting out the high cost to the nation’s health system to treat injuries from violence and road fatalities was launched yesterday at the Nigel Harris Council Room, University of West Indies Regional Headquarters in St Andrew.
According to the report — Cost of Care – The Burden of Violence-Related Injuries and Road Traffic Crashes to the Health Care System in Jamaica — showed that an estimated $12.6 billion was spent in 2014 to address violence-related injuries (VRI), road traffic crashes (RTC), as well as attempted suicide.
The study, which investigated the burden of VRIs and RTC to the health-care system in Jamaica, revealed that in 2014, hospitals across the country managed more than 25,000 cases of violence-related injuries, 13,000 road traffic crashes and 500 cases of attempted suicide.
It pointed out that the direct medical cost of VRIs was $3.6 billion and the indirect cost was $5 billion and that the total medical cost of VRIs was some $8.6 billion.
At the same time, the estimated direct medical cost for road traffic crashes was $1.4 billion, and the indirect productivity cost was $1.8 billion, bringing the total direct and indirect medical cost of RTC to $3.2 billion.
For attempted suicide, the direct medical cost was $400 million and the productivity cost was $400 million, resulting in a total direct and indirect medical cost of $800 million.
Dr Elizabeth Ward, one of the lead investigators of the study and chairman of the Violence Prevention Alliance, said that the study underscores the financial impact that violence-related injuries and road traffic crashes were having on the health sector.
“As a country, we need to develop new strategies to reduce these injuries. We need to have a multi-sectoral approach, involving both government and non-governmental organisations and all aspects of health, education, security, youth development, housing and business development,” she noted.
The study was conducted by the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA), The University of the West Indies, the University Hospital of the West Indies and the Mona GeoInformatics Institute. It was funded by the JN Foundation and the National Health Fund.
Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr, director, JN Foundation, said the organisation, a member of The Jamaica National Group, welcomed the opportunity to co-fund this research project because of its significance to citizens in the society, and the fact that it is consistent with one of the long-term objections of the foundation, which is to: enhance the health, safety and medical care of all Jamaicans.
“I am positive that the research will provide us with useful data, which will be adequately used to educate our young people and adults, pedestrians and motorists how, through better road use, everyone can contribute to reducing patient cost in hospitals across our country,” he said.
Everton Anderson, chief executive officer of the National Health Fund, said that the agency was equally happy to co-fund the research, which has provided quality data that will inform the Government and the health sector.
According to the report, the average cost to treat a VRI from gunshot wounds is $400,000; stab wounds and lacerations $190,000; and blunt injury, $120,000.
For RTC, the average cost to treat a motorcyclist was $260,000; for pedestrians $170,000; pedal cyclists, $120,000; and $94, 000 for passengers travelling in a car.
VPA director William Mahfood noted that the country’s expenditure on VRI and RTC amounts to almost 50 per cent of the revenue of the Wisynco Group, which he heads.
“It is a huge amount of money, and we can no longer as a country allow these issues to keep building and building. Problems like this, we have to deal with them head-on. I know that there are a number of initiatives that the Government is undertaking,” Mahfood said.
“At the end of the day the combined effect on GDP of these two areas is about two per cent, so if we want to get growth in Jamaica we need to deal with the impact of, one the cultural change in the way people drive,” he continued.
Heath Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, who was quick to point out that the data revealed the burden on society from trauma-related cases link VRI and RTC, said persons will now appreciate in a substantial way the impact of this particular type of trauma.

See the original article here!

It is costing the Jamaican health sector a staggering $12.6 billion per year on average to cover medical care for persons needing treatment for violence-related injuries and road traffic crashes.
The figure represents 36 per cent of the annual national hospital budget, according to the latest findings of a cost of care study.
The study – consisting of data, collected during the period April-May 2014, which investigated the effect of VRIs and RTCs on the health sector – revealed that in that single year, hospitals across the country managed more than 25,000 cases of violence-related injuries, 13,000 road traffic crashes, and 500 cases of attempted suicide.
The direct medical cost associated with suicide and attempted suicide was $0.4 billion, and the productivity cost was $0.4 billion, resulting in a total direct and indirect medical cost of $0.8 billion.
In addition, it also pointed out that the direct medical cost associated with violence-related injuries stood at $3.6 billion and the indirect cost at $5 billion, while the total medical cost linked with such violence-related injuries was $8.6 billion.
Health minister Christopher Tufton stated that there was no way the health sector would be able to sustain the high level of financing for such care given the insufficient funding of his ministry.
“Public health is underfunded. We have not been able to keep up with the pace of the demands on our public-health system. I don’t think anybody can argue otherwise. I do think it’s important to be truthful and sincere about it,” he said.
“But when you place in context the preventable issues that the public-health sector has to deal with, and according to the study, total estimated cost of violence-related injuries was some 59 per cent of the total ministry of health goods and services, it again brings into sharp focus why issues of prevention, as opposed to curative issues, are key,” Tufton reasoned.
High school students tinker with suicide to solve problems
A cost of care study conducted from April-May 2014 shows that it costs on average $400,000 to treat a gunshot victim, and $190,000, a victim of stab wounds and lacerations. An injury to someone from a blunt object carries with it a cost of $120,000 to access treatment per year.
Seven hospitals were covered in the study: the Kingston Public Hospital, the Bustamante Hospital for Children, the Spanish Town Public Hospital, the University Hospital of the West Indies, the Cornwall Regional Hospital, the St Ann’s Bay Hospital, and the May Pen Hospital.
The study was conducted by the Violence Prevention Alliance, the University of the West Indies, the University Hospital of the West Indies, and the Mona GeoInformatics Institute and was funded by the Jamaica National Foundation and the National Health Fund.
Tufton also noted that while injuries associated with violence and motor vehicle crashes provided a strain on the finances of his ministry, it was telling that there could be another challenge in the form of attempted suicide.
 
Suicidal solution
 
Another disturbing element having an impact on public health care delivery in Jamaica, Tufton said, is the issue of attempted suicide, which was underlined by a national survey undertaken recently by the National Council on Drug Abuse.
This study, Tufton said, revealed that children of high school age tinker with the idea of committing suicide as a mechanism to deal with their problems.
JN Foundation director Parris Lyew-Ayee said that it was important to co-fund the research given its importance to the Jamaican society, as well as the fact that it was in line with one of the long-term objectives of the foundation, which is to enhance health and safety for all Jamaicans.

See the original article here!

Thirty-five Social Enterprises, which have been nurtured by the Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI) both as members of the SEBI incubator and the SEBI open network, have received their official “Buy Social” trademark, to assist prospective consumers in identifying their products, services and social missions.

The objective is to increase consumer demand; and enhance the management of their enterprises. The “Buy Social” trade mark and advertising campaign were launched at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in Kingston on Thursday, November 30, 2017.

Saffrey Brown, General Manager, JN Foundation , said that the unique mark will signal to consumers that the business bearing it is a social enterprise.

“When you buy from a social enterprise, you are choosing to spend your money with a business that is giving something back,” Ms. Brown explained. “They reinvest their profits to address the most pressing social issues in their community, such as unemployment.”

The project manager said that the four-month campaign, to commence in December, will include advertising on television, radio and newspapers; as well as, on buses and digital bill boards.

Scheed Cole, manager of 360 Recycle Manufacturing, one of the social enterprises which will benefit from the initiative, said “we are working with grass roots people, so that they can earn sustainable income. We need all the help we can get and so I am in full support of Buy Social campaign.”

Located on Rousseau Road in the western zone of Kingston, 360 Recycle Manufacturing, uses plastic bottles, Styrofoam and paper to create construction materials such as blocks, flower pots and sculptures.

“Once the “Buy Social” promotion starts, we will get in line with it, and as more people come to know the brand, we expect it to create more business for us,” Mr. Cole said.

Charles Arumiselvam of Alpha Wear JA, a unique fashion venture created by the Alpha Boys School in Kingston, pointed out that he expect the “Buy Social” campaign to help the venture.

“Alpha Institute is known as a having social mission; but, what the Institute is not well known for is the business side of its operation; therefore, the “Buy Social” Campaign will put us on the map of Jamaica,” he declared.

“This is a great campaign,” Mr. Arumiselvam said. “It is an important moment for Alpha Institute to be identified as place where people can come and buy interesting products, and we are grateful to JN Foundation and SEBI to help promote us into the market place.”

To be used by the social enterprise practitioners initially in Jamaica, the trade mark will be  subsequently promoted across the wider Caribbean Region. The Buy Social Trade Mark and Social Advertising Campaign comprise the second phase of the SEBI project.
-30-
Contact:  Dionne Rose l JN Corporate Communications l JN Bank l Tel: 936-3367 l Email: drose@JNGroup.coml

Some 150 volunteers, comprising of students, community groups, government and private sector organisations,have been trained to support the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) Global Conference, which will take place from November 27 to 29 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.
Joy Roberts, co-chair of the Volunteers Committee for the UNWTO Conference,said the volunteers were integral to the success of the Conference, which is the first for the Caribbean and Jamaica.
“Undoubtedly, the volunteers will be a key part of the experience of delegates attending the Conference. They will be the first to meet the delegates when they arrive at the airport and they are assigned to every area of the Conference,” she pointed out.
The volunteers were trained in customer service, protocol, team building, registration and logistics. The volunteers are pulled from tertiary institutions such as the University of the West Indies; the University of Technology, the Caribbean Maritime University and the Spot Valley High School in St. James.Others are from community groups, the public and private sectors and the combined Cadet Group.
Saffrey Brown, general manager of the JN Foundation, which is also involved in the training of the volunteers,underscored the value of the volunteers to the upcoming Conference.
“This is a very important Conference with a large contingency of delegates from more than 100 countries who are expected to be in attendance. Our volunteers are trained to provide information and guidance, they will be the first point of contact and it is critical that they are well trained as they will contribute to the success of this Conference,” she pointed out.
D’ Andre Collinder, who has volunteered to work at the Conference, said that she was elated to participate as a volunteer.
“I have just completed my Masters Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management and I felt that volunteering for the upcoming UNWTO Conference would have been good experience for me since it is directly related to the Ministry of Tourism and something that is looking at sustainable tourism on a global scale,” she informed.
Collinder said she is looking forward to the exposure in areas of logistics and what involves putting on a Conference of this magnitude.
The Conference is being held under the theme “Jobs & Inclusive Growth: Partnership for Sustainable Tourism” and is being staged within the framework of the declaration of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
-30-

Contact:  Dionne Rose l JN Corporate Communications l JN Bank l Tel: 936-3367 l Email: drose@JNGroup.coml

The JN Foundation, an arm of the Jamaica National Group, has been supporting sustainable tourism through many projects it has undertaken during its almost three decades of operation.

“Guided by the ethos of the Jamaica National Group and using business as a force for good, we seek the most innovative and sustainable solutions to address the nation’s major social needs,” explained Saffrey Brown, general manager of the JN Foundation.

“Consequently, when we partner with communities and citizens to solve problems, we hold true to the fact that we are part of the solution the country seeks. But, most significantly, success, for us, is a model in which we strengthen and empower community members, so they can build and sustain their communities themselves,” she added.

Key among this sustainability is the Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI), a project of the JN Foundation, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Through SEBI, the foundation worked with 21 entities to build capacity and customise their business development services, designed to improve their profitability.

Brown pointed out that three of these entities – Montego Bay Marine Park in St James, Bunkers Hill Cultural Xperience in Trelawny and EducaTours JA in Kingston – were focused on sustainable tourism.

She also noted that prior to SEBI, the JN Foundation worked with the Junitavan Lagoon, an ecotourism attraction in Accompong, St Elizabeth.

RESTORED LAGOON

“In recognition of its integral role in environmental sustainability and preserving the culture of the Accompong Maroons, the JN Foundation undertook a project to restore the lagoon to its former glory,” Brown pointed out.

The first phase of the restoration project, an excavation exercise, was aimed at bringing ecotourism and aquaculture to Accompong.

Other successful tourism projects, she said, included work done with the Beeston Spring Community Group in Westmoreland. Under that project, which was administered by the Member Advisory Councils (MAC) set up across the JN branch network, MACs select and advise about projects worthy of funding under the foundation’s mantra of innovating, inspiring and impacting.

The Beeston Spring community members were trained in culinary arts, sewing and housekeeping from a partnership with the HEART Trust/NTA. After graduation, several persons were employed in hotels and restaurants; and some started their own businesses.

Committed to building Ja
It was a natural progression when The Jamaica National Group signed an agreement with the Government of Jamaica to provide planning, management and execution services to mount the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s Government of Jamaica, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism, to take place November 27 to 29 at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

Onika Miller, managing director of the MCS Group, the non-financial holding company of the Jamaica National Group, said that the partnership with the Government is a testament of the group’s commitment to nation building.

“We welcome the opportunity to forge this partnership with the Government to support this significant conference, which will benefit Jamaica and other Caribbean states,” she pointed out.

At the signing of the contact in July, Earl Jarrett, chief executive officer, the Jamaica National Group, underscored confidence in the JN team and the Government to stage a successful conference.

“Our team of professionals have the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver a successful conference. We are proud to have been selected by the ministry and are confident that our team will be equal to the task,” he said at the time.

The conference is a part of activities to mark the UN General Assembly’s declaration of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism. This declaration recognises the importance of tourism and the need to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, social inclusiveness, and employment and poverty reduction.

The conference, a first for Jamaica and the Caribbean, is expected to attract local, regional and international delegates.

See the original article here!