| TUESDAY, JUNE 21 @ 8:30 am @ Capital Hilton
FAITHBASED LEADERSHIP DIALOGUE
ICS organized a one day forum on community development in the US and in the Caribbean. Among the speakers to be featured were: Rev. Canon Dr. Kortwright Davis, Professor Sylva McDonald-Kaufman of Howard University School of Divinity, and Heather Foster, Deputy Director, Office of Faith-based Partnerships at the Department of Education; Marcus Coleman, Senior Advisor, Office of faith-based partnerships at the Department of Homeland Security and representatives of the SBA.
Read about the event below.
Call to Action: Building the Kingdowm, Empowering the Community
The church has always been a central part of community in the Caribbean. So it should come as no surprise that faith leaders still play an essential role in the Caribbean American community in the diaspora.
As part of 2011 national Caribbean American Heritage Month celebrations, more than 25 faith and religious leaders gathered for a one-day seminar at the Capitol Hilton in Washington DC on June 21 to discuss the role of the faith community in building social and economic empowerment among the Caribbean American community.
The day began with harmonious praise and worship that includes singing, prayers and intimate networking. Sessions for the day were divided into two workshops led by DC-area pastors with presentations from members of several U.S. government agencies faith based offices.
Leading the first session was Rev Sylvia van Laar who coordinated the workshop on ‘Creating Community at Home’. This session focused on how the faith community can be essential and chief architects on community development within the West Indian community in the United States. This development may come in different forms, as evidenced through presentations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Max Finberg, director of the Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships at USDA talked about the role of food to help communities achieve success. The current ‘Let’s Move’ program initiated and launched by First Lady Michelle Obama aims to bring healthier foods to low-income and disadvantaged communities. The faith community, Finberg said, could help with placing these resources before the right communities, like Jesus did when he fed thousands on the mount. Complimenting the community outreach is the need for community preparedness and engagement. Marcus Coleman with FEMA shared information about training for community leaders in emergency management and response as well as available funding, although he confessed that the Department of Homeland Security’s process is one of the most complicated. Heather Foster, policy and outreach advisor with the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the US. Department of Education (USDOE) talked about increased efforts to engage parents and community leaders in efforts to reform education. Faith leaders can play a part in this by working with local schools, offering mentors to students and encouraging students through community activities. She also talked about the DOE’s ongoing grant competition, like Investing in Innovation or i3 that seeks to incentivize the community to create new strategies to inspire high achievement in local communities.
The second morning session was dedicated to the topic of ‘Creating Community Abroad.’ This discussion revolved around efforts by U.S.-based organizations to help the Caribbean community in the region. A central part of this discussion is helping countries move towards self-reliance, rather than dependence on more developed countries like the United States. Rev. Sylvia McDonald-Kaufman, director of Institutional Research Assessment at Howard University School of Divinity talked about the space available for faith leaders to impact some of the historical challenges facing the Caribbean, such as under-employment and unemployment as well as health epidemics like HIV/AIDS.
Ari Alexander, director of the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), discussed President Obama’s goal for USAID in the Caribbean including its assistance, financial and technical, to deal with health issues, disasters, education and governance. The three pillars on which USAID works are democracy, food and health. The final speaker was Jerry Flavin with the US Small Business Association who talked extensively about types of help available for small businesses and the growing trend for faith-based organizations to open for-profit businesses. This trend can be instrumental in building community economic power.
In the afternoon, those in attendance divided into small groups to put together a strategic plan of next steps based on four topics: education/workforce, food, energy and housing. The plan outlined actions that the Caribbean American faith community can start implementing for actualization by 2015. To find out more about ICS Faith Coalition, contact Rev. Agoram Dike at agoromdike@yahoo.com.
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| WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22 @ 8:30 am
CEO BREAKFAST: THE VALUE OF PATENTS & TRADEMARKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS
The Caribbean Staff Association of the US Patent and Trademark Office partnered with ICS to host this inaugural event of the Caribbean Knowledge Economy & Intellectual Property Initative (KEIPI).
To read more about the session, read below.
Business Roundtable on Intellectual Property
At an early morning discussion, more than 35 small business owners and community leaders arrived at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia to hear best practices for protecting intellectual property in business and economic development.
The event, organized by the Caribbean Intellectual Property Association at the USPT featured presentations from patent and trademark experts. James Housel, director of the Global Intellectual Property Academy, discussed the economic benefits of obtaining patents for inventions, trademarks for original business identifiers such as a name, symbol or device and protecting copyrights on original artistic and literary work.
Intellectual property covers any word, symbol, invention, and information that are unique to a business or individual. “Intellectual property can be the engine for growth of the Caribbean region and individual countries in the region,” Housel said. He gave the example of his advice to Trinidad to protect his cacao plant to prevent a similar conflict that arose when Starbucks tried to trademark a popular Ethiopian coffee growing area that Ethiopia was trying to trademark as well.
Trademark attorney Scott Baldwin talked extensively about ‘What Every Small Business Must Know About Intellectual Property (IP).’ The interactive discussion highlighted myths about IP such as fair use, which Baldwin pointed out is not always ‘fair’ and territoriality which refers to the limited protections of IP only to the country where the product is registered. U.S. trademark law only protects products in the United States. Business owners that operate internationally must register their products in the country where they operate as well.
All in all, the message to entrepreneurs and businesses was clear. It is not enough to have a business idea. That idea should also be protected. The USPTO website includes several resources for small and medium businesses.
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| WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22 @ 3 pm
WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING ON CARIBBEAN AFFAIRS
As part of Caribbean American Heritage Month celebrations, the Institute of Caribbean Studies organized a briefing on Caribbean American Issues held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The entire process of entering any federal building imbues your senses with a strong feeling of gravity. The feeling of walking through the enormous doors of the majestic Eisenhower Executive Office Building only amplified this sensation. From Michael Blake’s cool but stern introduction, the event had the vibe of a group of people serious about the struggle at hand. The briefing was a wealth of knowledge in what President Barack Obama and his administration have been doing, what those programs and policies mean for the Caribbean American community, and the tools that are available moving forward to help the United States “Out-Build, Out-Educate, and Out-Innovate the Rest of the World.”
The first panel addressed the steps being taken domestically to help the recovery and to empower and benefit struggling communities and businesses, especially in the urban setting. The three main subjects were Health Care, small business lending, and education. They explained general elements of the Obama Health Care Reform Bill, emphasizing that it is intended to create plans for a larger segment of the population, having distinct benefits for the Caribbean American Community. Another critical underappreciated point they invoked was the Bill’s effort to create an easy comprehensible framework for people to choose a plan, benefitting the segment of the population that doesn’t receive benefits through their jobs. The philosophy of this is heartening; it speaks to a feeling of broader inclusion.
A representative from the US Treasury Department described a couple lending programs that are targeted to small business development. This is a clever method of promoting the ventures of people from less privileged backgrounds. It shows heartening faith in the ability of small businesses to innovate and grow, and from an economic perspective seems to be a brilliant counter to “trickle-down” economics. I encourage people to look into this program, which, though there are potential areas of fault, represents a philosophical change that could benefit Caribbean Americans in the future (and also emphasizes the importance of innovation to growth).
A discussion on educational programs revealed that there is a clear understanding of the depth of the structural unfairness of the US education system. The administration understands the issues that need to be addressed regarding funding, motivating, teacher hiring, narrowing the achievement gap etc, but addressing those issues is extremely expensive, complex, and delicate. A meaningful step in the right direction is the i3 (Investing in Education) grant program. It provides funding for schools (and school systems) and non-profits that have good ideas about improving student learning and performance, and helps develop effective partnerships. This is an excellent method of harnessing allowing the promotion of clever solutions, and is an excellent tool for related non-profits, and could be used effectively to improve the performance and success of Caribbean Americans in struggling school systems, again in a spirit of inclusion. The issue of college debt seemed the most inadequately addressed (maybe it’s because, as a college student, I’m very sensitive to such issues). The Pell Grant is a step in the right direction, but as it stands many college students from underprivileged backgrounds are graduating with enormous debt, with no real viable solution yet on the table.
The international panel was comprised of two speakers. The first panelist discussed the role of USAID in Haiti. He emphasized the efforts being made for a sustainable recovery. First, a lot of money has been put into repairing government buildings and restoring the devastated Haitian infrastructure. USAID has also worked in partnership with Haitian businesses to promote their export economy. Though these efforts are of course a step in the right direction, in future be heartening to see attempts to develop technology and innovation so Haiti can diversify what it sells to the world. The most critical point was the realization of the extent to which USAID works through partnerships. This provides opportunities for Haitian companies and non-profits to take advantage of their unique knowledge of Haitian business and culture. One failure, however, was in employing the Haitian Diaspora. The Diaspora is a critical untapped resource in the recovery effort that could also provide help and expertise.
The White House briefing represented a strong call for activism. It empowered those present to act more effectively in their respective communities inspiring optimism that the administration is frantically trying to provide a strong framework to promote the success of the Caribbean American community. The next step is action.
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THURSDAY, JUNE 23 @ 8:30 am
CARIBBEAN AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE FORUM
The 13th Annual Caribbean American Legislative Forum will take place on Thursday, June 23rd from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm on Capitol Hill. The Morning Session from 9a, to 2 pm will be held in Rayburn B336. This year's agenda will include a Roundtable of Caribbean American Elected Officials focussed on the plans for local stimulus. The afternoon session from 2:30-4:30 pm will be held in the US Senate Finance Committee Hearing Room.
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INDICATIVE AGENDA
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Caribbean American Legislative Forum F
oruForum
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TIME
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TOPIC
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8:00-9:30 am
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Caribbean American Elected Officials Breakfast Roundtable
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9:30-11:00 am
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Issues in Trade
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11:15-12:45 pm
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Issues in Small Business & Job Creation
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1:00 -2:00 pm
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UPDATE ON HAITI - Working Lunch
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2:30-4:30 pm
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DIALOGUE with the SENATE STAFF on How to Work With Your Senator
(SENATE House Office Building)
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RECEPTION IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS.
Pre-Registration Required
ARCHIVES
2010 - Trade and Energy for Growth
2009 - Sustainability for All
2008 - Towards Prosperity and Security
2006 - Building Partnerships for the Future
2005 - GROWTH WITH EQUITY:
2004 - DOING BUSINESS IN THE CARIBBEAN
LEGISLATIVE FORUM ON CAPITOL HILL
The 13th Annual Legislative Forum on Capitol Hill dealt with a range of policy issues, but at its core purpose outlined the development of Caribbean American business and the wider trade partnership between the U.S. and Caribbean. The panels and speakers were enthusiastic about the potential of promoting the partnership. The energy and motivation for change were palpable. The forum focused on directing this drive and coalescing organization and creativity into a cohesive movement.
The first panel discussed the various pieces of legislation and organizations that hold sway in international trade policy. This elucidated the existing structural issues that are persistent barriers to trade. Both speakers emphasized that inadequacies in trade standards and processing at customs erect a serious barrier to trade. If a system were in place to speed up this process then Caribbean businesses would have a larger market in the US, as well as elsewhere abroad. As it stands, despite the large Caribbean American diaspora in the U.S., Caribbean businesses are looking to Asia and Europe more because of these inefficiencies. The Organization of American States (OAS) is ideally a step in the right direction, but constant political disputes have made it difficult for it to make much of a contribution.
There are, however, many institutions that are valuable tools for trade and business promotion. The Food Safety Modernization Act puts the onus on importers (through partnership with the FDA) to ensure their goods meet U.S. standards. For trusted importers, their goods are fast tracked through customs. This is one example of a conduit where organizational collaboration could strengthen the trade relationship. Many of the pieces are already in play, but dialogue and activism are critical to encouraging institutions to align. CARICOM is a Caribbean trade agreement that makes inter-Caribbean trade cheaper and more fluid. It is a valuable tool in promoting Caribbean commercial strength and political unity, but it’s also a framework whereby it can develop an effective commercial partnership with the US.
An important goal of this relationship is to create the political and economic stability the Caribbean needs to support foreign and domestic investment. Foreign banks are cautious about investing in the Caribbean, partially because of the historical fear of crime in the region. The credit system in many Caribbean countries forces people when they can get loans to go to national banks. This leads to a brain drain of some of the more educated middle-class, who often leaves to get their medical and law degrees elsewhere. An effective international relationship would create more opportunities within the Caribbean, but importantly would also promote opportunities for Caribbean Americans who have a unique knowledge and connection to the region.
The next panel directly emphasized how to promote small business growth and innovation. There are 35,000 Caribbean-owned businesses in the US. However, there is still a strong need to empower Caribbean Americans as entrepreneurs and leaders, and make the legislative changes to stimulate an environment of opportunity. The diaspora’s relationship with the Caribbean is critical. There is a need to promote understanding of trade regulations that impact business, and to promote further integration and inclusion. The connection gives small business owners an advantage over larger corporations that often have to interact with their Caribbean partners through third parties. The utilization of this relationship is potential foundation for business growth. Again, the emphasis is on integration and partnership.
Activism is also an important element of economic and social empowerment, motivating an emphasis on personal strength and excellence. It is thus important to make steps forward in education. Not just as a tool for having a more educated workforce, but generating the awareness of and confidence in opportunities. It is an area that needs a lot of work to encourage the inclusion of Caribbean Americans, providing affordable access to college.
There were two overarching points of the forum. The young generation needs to have the optimism and confidence to become part of the next flood of leaders and innovators. Drive and optimism on an individual level allow a person to self-actualize, and would drive a broader actualization of the Caribbean American community. This drive will motivate entrepreneurship and ultimately create jobs for the Caribbean American community, as well as the American community more broadly. A strong, united voice will help drive an agenda change. There also needs to be a creation of dialogue with and between lawmakers, non-profits, businesses, and regulatory agencies. Dialogue will enable legislative change, and allow for the integration of organizations and agencies into a strong bilateral trade partnership between the U.S. and Caribbean.
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JUNE 24 @ 3:00pm
YOUTH LEADERSHIP DIALOGUE @ INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
This Forum brought together young professionals with leaders and professionals active in international development to discuss ways and means of achieving career success in the field of international development and public policy policy.
Read more about the event below.
2011 Youth Leadership Forum: Strengthening Youth Contributions
Approximately 50 individuals registered to attend the annual Caribbean American Youth Leadership Forum held on June 24, 2011 as part of the June as Caribbean American Heritage month series of events. The forum was a collaborative event between the Institute of Caribbean Studies and the Inter-American Development. The theme of the forum ‘Strengthening Youth Contributions,’ was intended to create a discussion on how the skills of young individuals can be used to further economic and social change in both the Caribbean American community and in the Caribbean region. The interactive event featured two panels with great speakers.
The first panel on Careers in International Development informed attendees of career pathways for young professionals at the Inter-American Development Bank. Diversity and inclusion initiatives aimed to attract, advance and retain underrepresented groups were also outlined. The featured panelists were:
Ms. Patricia Arenas, Human Resources Senior Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank described the various programs available for young professionals interested in career opportunities at the IDB. These programs include the Young Professionals Program, the Diversity Young Professionals Program, and the Summer/Winter Internship Program. There are also opportunities through research fellowships for young professionals. Ms. Arenas noted that there is a newly established ‘Applied Management in Development Program’ that will provide internship opportunities for MBA graduate students.
Mr. Michael Nelson, Operations Associate, Inter-American Development Bank, provided advice to participants from the perspective of a young professional at the IDB. Mr. Nelson stressed the importance of networking (prior to obtaining a job opportunity and also while working at the IDB). He also noted it is important to establish clear work deliverables with one’s boss, maintain a positive work ethic, and take advantage of IDB resources.
Ms. Gry Tina Tinde, Diversity Advisor, Inter-American Development Bank, provided an overview of the diversity initiatives at the IDB. Firstly diversity in an organization such as the IDB (but can be applied to any organization), provides the following advantages such as: (i) increased credibility, representativeness, and responsiveness; and (ii) increased chances of producing innovative and high-quality products by maximizing the diversity dividend. At a recently held Ms. Tinde noted the IDB’s diversity follow-up priorities following a recently held Leadership Diversity Conference. Some of these were: (i) proactive recruitment focus on afro-descendants and indigenous peoples; (ii) a commitment to achieve the 2015 gender targets that were set by the Board of Governors in connection with the 9th General Capital Replenishment; and (iii) inclusion of diversity and inclusion goals in supervisor performance evaluations starting in 2011.
The second panel focused on Youths in Action and highlighted the leadership role young people have undertaken in various programs and projects being implemented in the Caribbean region. Speakers briefly discussed their projects, and expected output/impacts. The featured speakers were:
Mr. Gavin Hutchinson, Director, Manifesto|Jamaica: Manifesto|Jamaica is a youth led non-profit, non-governmental organization that works to educate, expose and empower young people through arts and culture. Its programs focus on culinary, literary, martial, music, performing, spiritual and visual art forms, while its advocacy arm works to promote the responsible development of Jamaica's creative industries. Mr. Hutchinson noted that Manifesto|Jamaica engages in community programs, ‘mini-festos’ where the organization collaborates with youth clubs and community-based organizations to plan and execute community events that expose the artistic talents within communities. In addition, Manifesti|Jamaica hosts the annual Festival of ART’ical Empowerment.
Ms. Georgina Perez, Accounting Senior Associate, Inter- American Development Bank: Ms. Perez acts as primary fundraising liaison for “La Croix Glorieuse” orphanage project in Haiti. The project started after the earthquake in Haiti and involves the IDB Young Connection and the IDB Professional Women’s network. The first part of the project involved the successful delivery of clothes, personal care products and money to cover basic costs. The second part of the project will involve providing support to improve the infrastructure of the project.
Ms. Shaina Silva, Fundraising Officer, Haiti-in-Transition (H.i.T): The H.I.T Movement is a collaborative effort to help engage the Haitian youth by creating a platform for the youth voice to be heard and then reinforcing this engagement through a series of projects called "hits". One of the primary platforms H.i.T. plans to use is the established of youth-led neighborhood councils which will enable young people in various communities to collaborative on various community development projects. H.i.T also will engage in various leadership development activities to enhance the leadership skills of youth leaders in Haiti.
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JUNE 27 @ 12 Noon
US STATE DEPARTMENT DIPLOMACY CONFERENCE ON US-CARIBBEAN POLICY
The US State Department continues it outeach to diaspora communities with the third in a series of public engagements, on Monday, June 27 from Noon to 5 pm. Speakers will be Senior level officials of the State Department. This invitation only event requires security clearance. To be considered for an invitation, you must PRE-REGISTER. REGISTRATION CLOSED Friday, June 17th at Midnight.
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