The media and CSME - A story from Antigua

ST JOHN'S - The Antiguan media industry is becoming a main beneficiary of the free movement provisions of the CARICOM Single Market.
And from our brief visit there, it's clear that the media can yet play a vital role in the CSME - not as mere propagandist or cheerleader - but as watchdog and economic player.
Witness the Observer Media Group, owners of the most popular newspaper and radio station in the country (full disclosure: I was once a consultant/trainer to Observer Radio's startup in 2001). Observer employs six CARICOM Skilled Nationals - its General Manager, the acclaimed regional broadcaster, Julian Rogers, a technician and four journalists, from Barbados, Grenada and St Lucia.
And the station is poised to make perhaps its biggest single contribution to regional integration yet - by going regional shortly. According to Observer's chairman, Winston Derrick, it's time to take the dialogue on CSME from the realm of politicians to the domain of the people; in doing so, the CSME will become more relevant to the day-to-day lives of Caribbean people.
Our thanks to the management and staff of Observer Media Group. We also want to thank Holly Peters of the Antigua and Barbuda Chamber of Commerce for facilitating our outreach to key stakeholders in the private sector during our one-day stay in St. John's.

Tales from Guyana

GEORGETOWN - First, our thanks to the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and in particular, Sherwin Naughton and the ministry's indefatigable driver, Mr. Softley, for their great support and fine company during our consultation in Guyana.
As we moved around, we met a diverse range of callings and people - football coaches who worked in Guyana through CSME;  a footballer with a convincing Bajan accent who was taking a break in his homeland from plying his trade; a deejay who plays regularly in other Caribbean countries; a racial potpourri of artistes - Indian, African and European who reminded us that music is truly a universal language that cuts through borders and restrictions and regulations; representatives of engineers, craftspeople (thanks for the bottles of Guyanese wine!) and service providers.
Thank you all for your candour, humour and commitment. More on our trip and what we found later.
Next, it was off to Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda for another round-robin series of consultations - journalists, nurses, teachers, NGO leaders,  business and opinion leaders and other Caribbean people who use the CSME's provisions to live and work in the region. We intend to share their stories soon. Our final stop is Kingston - on Wednesday and Thursday, with the assistance of the Government of Jamaica and JAMPRO, Jamaica's export promotion agency.

OPINION: Don’t blame the population for CARICOM’s failures

By Sir Ronald Sanders

Little credit is given to the benefits of regional cooperation. It is seldom, if at all, mentioned by governments in their parliaments or in their media conferences.

Would CARICOM public opinion support the regional integration movement if our people knew more about its benefits? Read Sir Ron's column here and add to the dia-blog.... 

CSMEJobs.net: Isn't this all we need?

CSMEJobs.net is a job search engine and career social networking/community website operated by EFI Limited in Trinidad and Tobago.
The site is intended to "provide the best place on the Internet for job seekers in the Caribbean Diaspora and employers looking for Caribbean talent to find each other". It is targetted at job-seekers, HR managers, recruiters, trainers and professional/trade associations.

Thank you, St Lucia!

CASTRIES, July 7 - More than 40 participants from St Lucia's labour market, from professional organisations, artists groups, artisans, media workers, trade unions to civil servants, came together at the Bay Gardens Hotel in Rodney Bay on June 30 for a national consultation on the CSME.