ST GEORGE’S, August 5, 2010 (GIS) – A historic conference bringing together Grenadians at home and abroad to discuss ways of further enhancing national development efforts opened Thursday morning at St. George’s University.
They are attending a two-day Preparatory Conference organised by the Diaspora Office of the Grenada Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Among the group of more than 100 attendees was Prime Minister Tillman Thomas who delivered the keynote address. Others included Governor-General Sir Carlyle Glean; several Cabinet ministers; members of the diplomat corps; private sector officials; and guest speaker Grenadian Justice Doliver Nelson, an International Law of the Sea expert.
The following is the text of the opening remarks delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Peter David.
Salutation!
It is indeed a pleasure to extend a warm welcome to all who have joined us in this preparatory Diaspora Conference.
I am particularly happy to extend a special welcome to the overseas-based nationals who have accepted our invitation to participate in this Conference. Some of you have been coming home regularly over the years, but on the other hand, some of you have not had the opportunity to be here so often. I welcome you all.
I wish to recognize and welcome our special guest, Justice Doliver Nelson. Dr Nelson is a renowned son of the soil; an expert on the Law of the Sea who has served in many positions in international organizations, particularly the United Nations. Dr. Nelson hails from St. Patrick and is an Old Boy of the Grenada Boys Secondary School. He therefore shares some bonds with many of us; either being from St. Patrick, or a GBSS Old Boy or as a member of the legal profession. Dr. Nelson I want to warmly welcome you once more.
I also want to welcome to Grenada my good friend, Ambassador June Suma from St. Lucia and to thank her for agreeing to participate in today’s Conference. Ambassador Suma has been at the helm of the St. Lucia Diaspora movement and we will surely benefit from her experience.
Let me also welcome my friend, Earl Brathwaite, who so graciously agreed to be present here and to share his experiences with us. Earl has been very successful in several fields and we no doubt are eager to have him play an important role in our Diaspora movement.
I must thank all the many persons who, in one way or another, contributed to today’s activity. The committee responsible for the Conference, led by Permanent Secretary Lana McPhail, I extend many thanks to all the members: Michael Mitchell, Derrick James, Ambassador George Mac Leish, Michael Bascombe, Betty-Ann Lazarus, Troy Garvey, Gerry McPhail and Lincoln “Toro” Depradine. To all Grenadian Ambassadors and High Commissioners who assisted over the last several months, I thank you. I also welcome Ambassador Ruth Rouse who is based in London.
And to the many Grenadians in the Diaspora who could not make it here but who no doubt will be listening on the internet, thanks for participating in the many conference calls and other activities in preparation for this conference.
Ladies and gentlemen, engaging the Diaspora in a meaningful way has always been a personal dream. Having lived outside of Grenada – in Ottawa and Vancouver in Canada, in Brooklyn, New York, and in London, England – I am keenly aware of the talents that exist out there and the desire of our people to get involved in the development of the tri-island Nation of Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique. As I always say, the further away we are from Grenada the more patriotic we become. I am also aware of the many frustrations faced in trying to send things home, the many stories of items remaining on the port, and of course the difficulties faced in relocating to Grenada.
It is for this reason why in 2003 during the Budget debate, while still in Opposition, I articulated the role of the Diaspora within the context of a framework for sustainable development. Immediately after coming into office, the Government of Prime Minister Tillman Thomas adopted the initiative to engage the Diaspora in the development process of Grenada and announced the establishment of an Office of Diaspora Affairs, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The goals of that Office are among others:
• Building sustainable partnerships for development between the Diaspora communities and the homeland through linkages and participation.
• Assisting in rural development, focusing on youth development and poverty reduction.
• Strengthening and developing platforms for cooperation between the Diaspora and Government. This will be done by utilizing the skills, resources and experiences of nationals living abroad for training initiatives and other effective strategies to provide better policy formulation and solutions of the country’s challenges.
Today’s preparatory conference, being held under the theme “Engaging the Diaspora,” is an activity of the Office of Diaspora Affairs. It is a precursor to a much larger Diaspora Founding Conference scheduled for 2011 and a grand Homecoming in 2012. The objective of this two-day meeting is to provide an opportunity for initial discussions and exchange of opinions and proposals between Government officials and the Grenadian Diaspora, and nationals at large. The expectation is that coming out of the discussion and exchange will be an integrated policy framework for nationals of Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique living abroad to be more integrally involved in our nation’s development.
I am convinced that the nexus between Grenadians in the Diaspora and Grenadians at home must be deepened and expanded. As we move along with the process and continue on the path of fulfilling the promise we made during our election campaign of bringing change to our country, it is urgent that we engage the human resources available in the Diaspora.
We need to get you intimately involved and participating in the development and transformation of the country, not just in the traditional roles of sending items for hospitals, schools or communities – although we deeply appreciate those acts of generosity and would like you to continue providing them. But we also want to take this to a higher, deeper, and more systematic and structured level. We now want to reach out to you – those of you who reside overseas, those of you who are listening live via the internet and others who are and will be following this conference by other means – we want to establish a formal partnership whereby we can begin utilizing your skills and abilities in training your fellow nationals at home; influencing and shaping policies by utilizing your experiences in implementing projects and programmes; by your direct investments in the economy; and by working with you as nationals in what I call the 16th Constituency, to have a voice in the decision-making process in Grenada.
Over the last year I have visited with Grenadians in Huddersfeild and London in England, in New York and in Montreal and Toronto, and I must say that the spirit of patriotism is alive and well. Over the next year we plan to visit our communities in many more countries and cities.
I have heard the many concerns and proposals coming out of the experiences of our Diaspora communities. We want to develop on these here today.
Just last month I had the opportunity to be the guest speaker at a ceremony to honour one of our distinguished Grenadian daughters in the Diaspora, Dr. Jean Augustine. On that occasion, I intimated that many of you have received more experiences in the countries where you now reside than have afforded you at home. I believe that the land of your birth, Grenada, and your wider family at home, deserve to share in those experiences that you would have gained from living overseas.
We believe that the Office of Diaspora Affairs is a major initiative that can assist in the transformation of our country. In this regard we will engage as many partners as possible to assist in this process.
In March, 2010, while in Washington D.C. attending a special session of the Organisation of American States, I took the opportunity to hold discussions with the World Bank and sought support for developing the Diaspora Office. The Bank showed enthusiasm in assisting and using Grenada as a model for other countries in the region who have similar desire to seriously engage their nationals abroad.
Only last week officials of the Bank met with personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and indicated the Bank’s willingness to provide grant aid to assist us in furthering this initiative. Some of the activities discussed include equipping of the office, developing of a data base, and developing of a policy on closely liaising with the Diaspora.
We have indicated to the Bank that not only are we willing to accept their assistance, but that Grenada will move with urgency to ensure that all the requirements of the program are put in place by the fourth quarter of this year.
Your participation not only today, but in the ongoing engagement that will follow in the weeks and months ahead, will help bring into focus issues that need to be addressed in this policy document.
Today is just the beginning of a process that we believe will contribute significantly to Grenada’s development. We are happy that you are here to share in this moment.
We also welcome the many locally based groups and individuals who have come here today. Without their participation we will not succeed. As I have said on many occasions, this process is non-partisan and truly national in character. We hope that all Grenadians at home and abroad will join this process of bringing our people together.
As you may already know we have made some changes to the process from what we discussed with you during the teleconferencing that took place prior to the meeting. We consider that with the new process we will give everyone an opportunity to give their views on all the five thematic areas and not be limited to just one. Just as a reminder the thematic areas are:
1. Health.
2. Education.
3. Youth and Sport.
4. Culture.
5. Investment and Trade.
Throughout today, we want to hear from you. We want your ideas as to how this partnership can work to achieve the goals. We want your ideas on a workable structure; we want your opinion on projects and programmes; we need your involvement in training our people; we need your ideas which can be used as the basis for policy formulation. In other words, we need you to be part of the process; we need your commitment and your active involvement.
Brothers and Sisters, I therefore wish to urge you to participate fully in today’s discussions. It is my hope that at the end of the day we would have a clear roadmap as to the way forward.
I thank you for coming and look forward to your fullest participation.
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