THE WORK OF THE MISSIONS ABROAD
Headquarters
New Permanent Secretary Rhoda Jackson welcomed by Chief Passport Officer Clarence Russell to the passport office 27 September.
Headquarters
YLAI Fellow Xavier Knowles, co-founder and COO of Bahrezy, a business dedicated to providing affordable and reliable transportation in The Bahamas.
YLAI Fellow Constentina Hamilton, Founder and President of Proserpina AgTech, a business dedicated to improving the profitability of agribusiness strategies, green technology and renewable energy.
YLAI Fellow Kerel Pinder, Founder and Managing Director of SisBro Productions, an event and production company on Grand Bahama as well as an author, motivational speaker and playwright.
26 September
U.S. Embassy Nassau Announces the Bahamas’ 2017 Cohort of the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Professional Fellows Program
The U.S. Embassy is proud to announce the 2017 cohort from The Bahamas for the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Professional Fellows Program. The YLAI program supports the United States’ commitment to increase trade and investment in the region. The five-week program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, will bring 250 young leaders from 36 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to the United States to augment their business or social venture plans, learn from U.S. counterparts, and share best practices.
This year we are pleased to announce that three young leaders from The Bahamas have been accepted out of more than 3,000 applications to the YLAI Professional Fellows Program. The fellows are business and social entrepreneurs engaged in start-ups, small businesses, non-governmental organizations, and similar entities focused on agriculture, clean energy, consulting, e-commerce, education, entrepreneurship development and support, food and beverage, health care, hospitality, marketing and branding, mobile applications, and women’s and youth empowerment.
This year’s fellows from The Bahamas include Constentina Hamilton, the Founder and President of Proserpina AgTech, a business dedicated to improving the profitability of agribusiness strategies, green technology and renewable energy. Another, Kerel Pinder, Founder and Managing Director of SisBro Productions, an event and production company on Grand Bahama as well as an author, motivational speaker and playwright. The third YLAI Fellow, is Xavier Knowles, co-founder and COO of Bahrezy, a business dedicated to providing affordable and reliable transportation in The Bahamas.
The YLAI Professional Fellows Program kicks off at a conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The young leaders then participate in four-week fellowships in cities throughout the United States, where host-businesses mentor and guide the fellows through an entrepreneurship curriculum. The program concludes with a closing Summit in Washington, D.C. focused on leadership and skills development training. Fellows return to their ventures with new skills, resources, on-going support from U.S. counterparts and an improved network, strengthening business ties between the U.S. and The Bahamas.
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State funded this program, which is implemented by the Meridian International Centre in partnership with Atlas Cors and Entrepreneurs’ Organization and community-based members and universities throughout the U.S.
For more information visit the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative website: https://ylai.state.gov/.
Chinese Gift To NEMA
The Chinese Ambassador announced that the People’s Republic of China donates $50,000 USD towards NEMA Bahamas post- Hurricane Irma. 26 September
Washington D C
Bahamas Embassy Charge d’Affaires Chet Neymour, OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development Kim Osborne and Minister of Education Hon. Jeffrey Lloyd after meeting on OAS education matters.
25 September, 2017
Minister Lloyd encourages OAS Member States to pursue a “culture of innovation” as he begins Working Visit to Washington DC
Washington DC — Hon. Jeffrey Lloyd, Minister of Education, began a working visit to Washington DC on Monday, 25th September, 2017, with Keynote Remarks delivered at an Organization of American States (OAS) Round Table on Innovation and several meetings with prospective development partners, including the OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and private sector companies such as Microsoft.
During his Keynote Remarks on “Innovation policies and the importance of innovation indicators” at the OAS HQ in Washington DC, Minister Lloyd observed the ongoing work in The Bahamas and wider region to advance innovation and the use and development of technology but offered that further work was required to “create a culture of innovation and expose people to the opportunities that science, technology and innovation afford to improve their way of life.”
In identifying the particular challenges of the Caribbean region related to high energy costs, vulnerability to more frequent and destructive natural disasters due to climate change and uneven telecommunications connectivity, Minister Lloyd advised that “regional collaboration answers the call and can be the catalyst to share policies, programs and assets which can provide a path to address some of the most urgent issues around these great challenges in a win-win fashion, matching assets and capabilities”. The Minister particularly underscored the unique development challenges faced by The Bahamas which had to duplicate governance across the archipelago because of having to “manage 28 airports, almost 100 clinics and 170 public schools” and given “eighty percent of The Bahamas is less than 1 meter above sea level”.
Later in the morning, Minister Lloyd met with the OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Mrs. Kim Osborne, and discussed current education projects with the OAS and The Bahamas, such as the OAS-Bahamas Scholarship, and identified areas for potential future collaboration with the OAS, including teacher training, integration of technology into Bahamian schools, capacity building for the University of The Bahamas and technical assistance with policies and programmes to promote innovation and to address youth unemployment.
Minister Lloyd also met with Chiefs of the Education and Labour Divisions of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to advise on the education goals for the new administration and discuss prospective collaborative opportunities with the Bank, particularly in the areas of early child hood care and education policy that addresses youth unemployment.
Minister Lloyd will participate in a Science and Technology Meeting at the OAS on September 26th – 27th and will chair the Planning Meeting of Authorities of the Inter-American Committee on Education on September 28th – 29th. The Bahamas hosted the Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Education in February 2017 and remains chair of the Inter American Committee on Education until 2018.
United Nations
29 September, 2017
Ambassador Carey delivers remarks during UN high level meeting on trafficking in persons
NEW YORK— A High-Level Meeting of the plenary of the General Assembly was convened 27 to 28 September 2017 at United Nations Headquarters in New York to appraise progress achieved and to assess gaps and challenges in the implementation of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. On behalf of The Bahamas, Permanent Representative of The Bahamas to the United Nations, H.E. Ms. Sheila Carey, delivered the national statement.
Ambassador Carey informed the high-level meeting that The Bahamas considers trafficking in person a heinous crime. For this reason, she added, it is committed to taking a serious and proactive approach to combat it. Using examples, Ambassador Carey illustrated the significant strides The Bahamas has made regarding trafficking in persons. The Bahamas UN Representative reaffirmed the commitment of The Bahamas to eliminating trafficking in persons. In concluding, she recognised the vast reach of human trafficking rings and encouraged global partnership to secure a sustainable and peaceful future.
United Nations
