In Brief - Caribbean and Diaspora News
In the News this week:
Jamaica's new economic model
Turks and Caicos' Williams to run for Team GB?
Caribbean winners at Commonwealth awards
Diaspora catch-up: Windrush Day and Dreddy Tennis
Social Media: Warner, Mandela, Wimbledon
Quote of the week
“A new economic model” - Engaging the Diaspora: Both in Jamaica and the UK, there have been several meetings held to explore ways of engaging the Diaspora in Caribbean development.The fifth biennial Diaspora Jamaica Conference was held in Kingston from 16-19 June. Foreign Trade Minister Arnaldo Brown said there had already been “concrete deliverables” from the conference.
Meanwhile in London, an exploratory meeting of business people, academics, financial, legal and investment experts met to look at engaging the UK Caribbean Diaspora.
Jamaican Finance Minister Peter Phillips said that plans to transform the Jamaican economy amounted to “a new economic model”.
He said that, above and beyond the country’s current agreement with the IMF, there was a national effort aimed at “fundamentally transforming economic activity”.
He told potential British investors that Jamaica’s new economic model would not be based on cheap labour, but on “embedding capacity for innovation”.
The IMF deal might be in the headlines, he said, but the “longer-term objective is how we restructure the Jamaican economy”.
His blueprint for the initiative included:
· local benefits from the 2015 opening of the Panama Canal expansion project
· investment in information technology
· an integrated tourism sector
· and agricultural development plans to replace imported ingredients with local products.
British press excited about Delano: World Junior 200m champion Delano Williams was touted during Jamaican Champs as a future Usain Bolt. However, despite his move from the Turks and Caicos to Jamaica and his training there, 19-year-old Delano has pleased British sports writers with news that he might possibly run for Team GB at the World Championships in Moscow in August.
Delano holds both Turks and Caicos and UK passports.
The Daily Telegraph said he was “considered such a hot prospect that he was recently invited by Glen Mills, the coach of Usain Bolt, to join Jamaica’s famous Racers Track Club and learn his craft alongside Bolt and Yohan Blake”.
The London-based Guardian ran headlines such as “Turks & Caicos-born sprinter switches allegiance” and “19-year-old’s transfer is rubber-stamped by [UK] authorities”.
“The news is a massive boost for British sprinting,” the Daily Mail said.
In Jamaica, the Observer newspaper opened up a comments page on its website. Many readers have left postings supporting Delano’s decision as a Turks and Caicos national.
Caribbean honours at Commonwealth awards: Former Commonwealth Secretary-General Sir Shridath Ramphal received a Commonwealth Lifetime achievement award this week. Born in Guyana and currently based in Barbados, Sir Shridath has served as Foreign Minister of Guyana and Chancellor of the University of the West Indies as well as chairing Caribbean/ Caricom bodies. Jamaican-born Patsy Robertson also received a Commonwealth Outstanding Contribution Award. Formerly a Jamaican journalist and diplomat, she is currently the chair of the Commonwealth Association and of the Ramphal Centre. 
Diaspora catch-up:
Windrush Day: Following the 65th Anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush on 22 June, a petition is now going seeking to get the day celebrated as Windrush Day - an annual celebration of multicultural Britain.
The 65th anniversary – which marked the arrival of the first large group of West Indian immigrants in the UK after World War II – prompted celebratory events and statements by politicians, including British PM David Cameron.
Windrush has become the symbol of the start of West Indian and Caribbean migration in large numbers to Britain in the 1950s and even featured in last year’s London Olympic opening ceremony.
Goodbye Hewitt, Hello Dreddy Tennis: Although he is German-born, Dustin Brown, the man who put Lleyton Hewitt out of Wimbledon in the second round, was brought up in Jamaica.
His Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) profile says he was nicknamed “Dreddy” because of his locks and that he began playing tennis at the age of five. He began his pro career in Jamaica, but changed to German nationality in 2010.
His Twitter handle is @DreddyTennis. He described his win over Hewitt on the micro-blogging site on 26 June using the tags #DidAllThatJustHappen…#CriedLikeaLilGirl and #RastaManRunDiWorld.
His Twitter ID picture has both the Jamaican and German flags.
He was quoted by the German newspaper Die Welt as saying: "I'm not really the kind of guy who starts crying but I saw Lleyton play when I was growing up. I've often been that near to such a great victory. Today, I finally managed it."
Checks by Caribbean Intelligence indicate that his website crashed during the match as global attention turned to Dreddy Tennis.
Social media round-up
(Caribbean Intelligence follows Caribbean and Diaspora news tweets on @caribintelligen and @Whatsthebuzz3 for culture, liming and fun stuff. We look back at the most tweeted subjects for the last week)
Jack on social media: Fifa ex-VP and former Trinidad security minister Jack Warner posted 271 photos on his Facebook page on 25 June, the day of his screening by the United National Congress (UNC) in his bid to run again for the party and win back his Chaguanas West constituency. He stepped down from both the seat and his cabinet position after a report by regional football body Concacaf said that he had questions to answer about Fifa money. Caribbean Intelligence© writer Tony Fraser explains how the by-election decision could be a political triumph or epitaph for Jack Warner if he is able to break the mould of Trinidad politics.
Top What’s the Buzz cultural/social chat tweets this week were: Michael Jackson – four years since his death; fears for Nelson Mandela’s health; allegations of police efforts to infiltrate the campaign seeking justice for murdered black UK teenager Stephen Lawrence; Jamaica’s animation Kingstoon Festival; and the start of the annual search for the “best Caribbean holiday location for (place favourite activity here).”
What the news tweets dealt with: Nelson Mandela; Jack Warner (see above); opposition to Jamaica’s anti-buggery laws; Stephen Lawrence; and the various national sports team trial results (no Olympic teams being chosen this year, but still important for August in Moscow).
Wimbledon on Twitter: SW19’s official twitter site pointed out that Dustin Brown is the first player to wear his Twitter handle on his tennis shirt.
Quote of the week
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies” – Nelson Mandela. The quote was used by Indian author and New Age guru Deepak Chopra on arrival in Trinidad on 25 June for a series of seminars. Chopra said the quote had helped him deal with his own critics.
In Brief replaces our weekly Caribbean and Diaspora News Round-up. Let us know what you think To contact Caribbean Intelligence©, you can email us on caribbeanintelligence@gmail.com or send us on note on Twitter @caribintelligen. For more in-depth news, check out our analysis pages. When you want to switch off from the news, try our cultural pages What’s the Buzz and twitter feed@whatsthebuzz3.