Twenty nine Jamaicans from public and private sectors and civil society were officially installed as members of the prestigious CARICOM Single Market Spokespersons Bureau on Tuesday March 17 after two days of training at the Eden Gardens Wellness Resort and Spa.
The training, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Jamaica in partnership with the CARICOM Secretariat, and with funding from the Government of Canada, introduced participants to message framing, media interview techniques and presentation skills. Simulated media interviews were conducted based on a range of questions on the CARICOM Single Market with differing degrees of difficulty.
The Jamaican cohort joins other teams recently installed in Grenada, Guyana, Belize, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines – all of whom constitute the regional bureau. Spokespersons are expected to talk about the CSM to the media, peers and other circles of influence.
The Spokespersons Team is one of two outreach tools coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade to help spread the message about the CARICOM Single Market, including where and how to access the right to work, travel and do business in twelve other CARICOM nations. The other tool, dubbed Access CSME – The Workplace Edition, takes a multi sector team of public sector representatives to workplaces and associations to deliver a joined up presentation on how to access the provisions of the Single Market. These teams can be officially booked through the National CSME Focal Point Office at the Ministry.
The Jamaica team was officially welcomed by Under Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Ms Marcia Thomas, who called on the team to discharge their responsibilities faithfully. She congratulated them for completing the training and attaining the milestone of receiving their certificates.
The Spokespersons Bureau includes representatives of all Government ministries and Agencies which handle applications for various regimes of the Single Market; Sandals Resorts International which has utilized the rights of established and skills regimes; Grace Kennedy which has also accessed these two Single Market provisions; CARICOM Youth Ambassadors and Teachers.
The Spokesperson Workshop is one of several activities funded through the CTCP under component 300 entitled the CARICOM Single Market Information Flows Project. The project is mandated to set the framework for heightened public education and awareness on the CSME led by the focal point Ministries in six CARICOM Member States. This includes capacity building initiatives, worksite meetings, sustainable public education strategies and information channels, and Workshop training of the Media, Teachers and Spokesperson to spread the word among their significant stakeholders and publics. The project is being implemented in Belize, Jamaica, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Guyana.
