Digicel maintains redevelopment initiative downtown

DIGICEL Foundation showcased its continued commitment to the redevelopment of Downtown Kingston with the unveiling of a new monument at the Breezy Castle Roundabout last Thursday.

The monument, entitled “Evolution” was unveiled by the Minister of Education Rev Ronald Thwaites, on behalf of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, as part of Digicel Foundation’s 10th anniversary celebrations.

Digicel Foundation said the monument is a gift to the “extraordinary Jamaicans that they have worked with for their first 10 years.”

Created by Jamaican artists Chungknight and Raymond Watson with the murals done by Studio 174, the monument consists of 49 statuettes at its base which is representative of Jamaica‘s past and present. It has at the top two golden central figures rising above in fluid motion representing, according to the artists, dynamism and hope for the future.

The roundabout is the focal point of a larger beautification project being undertaken by Digicel Foundation since 2012 in partnership with the National Solid Waste Management Authority, Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC), Urban Development Corporation (UDC) and members of Rae Town, Parade Gardens, and Allman Town communities.

The roundabout was landscaped with the assistance of Digicel staff volunteers, members of the neighbouring communities as well as Minister Thwaites and Prime Minister Simpson Miller.

“Under the generous patronage of Digicel Chairman Denis O’Brien and partnerships with local and international organisations, the Digicel Foundation has set a remarkable pace for sustainable development,” said Digicel Foundation’s new Chairman Jean Lowrie-Chin.

Digicel Jamaica which relocated its headquarters to the downtown area in 2012 has since partnered with UDC and KSAC to complete several successful projects, including the Coronation Market and Redemption Arcade renovations.

Since its inception in 2004, the Digicel Foundation has completed over 400 projects with an overall investment of J$2 billion and positively impacted the lives of over 400,000 Jamaicans in the areas of education, special needs and community development.

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Digicel maintains redevelopment initiative downtown

Caribbean Export funding tech initiative “Start Up Jamaica”

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Monday September 15, 2014, CMC – The Barbados-based Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) says it will provide financial support towards the launch of “Start Up Jamaica (SUJ),” an initiative through which technology companies can access seed capital, training and mentorship in return for equity in the company.

Caribbean Export said that the funds would be provided under the Regional Private Sector Development Programme (RPSDP) that is being funded by the European Union under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), in efforts to accelerate development in youth entrepreneurship, with a focus on the technology sector.

SUJ, a project of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, aims to support talented and technologically savvy young people to tap into the growing global market for technological innovations, and further serves the social demand for more employment opportunities not only in Jamaica but also in the wider Caribbean.

“This initiative has the potential to be a regional game changer in the transitional development of the regions savvy young people who are bursting with ideas, into our future entrepreneurial successes,” said Caribbean Export’s Executive Director, Pamela Coke-Hamilton.

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Caribbean Export said the support offered through the programme is intended to grow the ideas of innovators and entrepreneurs from the region into marketable products and services, while also increasing employment and generating foreign exchange.

The strategy aims to transform Caribbean people from being “technology consumers” to “technology creators” over the next few years, and to position Jamaica as the hub for entrepreneurship and innovation in the Caribbean, it added.

‘Start Up Jamaica’ is modelled on the very successful ‘Start Up Chile’ programme, which at pilot stage in 2010 attracted 22 start-up companies from across 14 countries, and now is on track to meet its target of 1,000 participants by the end of this year.

Start Up Jamaica, which will be the first of its kind in the region, 192 applications, from across the region.

Earlier this month SUJ hosted a five day boot camp for tech entrepreneurs and Caribbean Export said 10 teams will be selected to work with SUJ in partnership with Oasis500 in October 2014.

Oasis500 is the pioneering early stage and seed investment company from the Middle East, which supports entrepreneurs with funding and training. They will also be delivering the training for the Boot Camp.

“Through SUJ, participating start-up companies are expected to be better prepared to pitch to equity investors and receive investments to achieve business growth,” Caribbean Exports aid, adding that other partners in the venture include the World Bank, LIME and Jamaica National Building Society Foundation.

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Caribbean Export funding tech initiative “Start Up Jamaica”

Red hills primary benefits from Child Find initiative

Bjorn Burke, Staff Reporter

At the beginning of the school term in September, 20 students enrolled at the Red Hills Primary School in St Andrew are on track to benefit from the Ministry of Education’s special-education Child Find initiative, ensuring no child gets left behind in the task of learning.

In acknowledging that there are students at the school who face several challenges in the classroom, Red Hills Primary principal Lorna Hector shared with THE weekend STAR that the Child Find initiative to come on stream is graciously welcomed.

“We would like to improve the programmes offered. One main one is, come September, we hope to include a programme of special needs. We’re going to cater for special-needs children. Already, some children have been selected and tested by Child Find in collaboration with the Ministry of Education,” she explained. “We know that many children are not making it for different reasons, and one of the reasons is that some just might have learning challenges that the ordinary teacher would not be able to assist them within the way in which they should be.”

Hector further explained that the number of students selected for the Child Find initiative is expected to increase as time progresses.

The Child Find special-education policy, birthed out of the necessity to provide assistance to children with special needs, was spearheaded by the Ministry of Education, identifying students with undiagnosed and undetected challenges in schools islandwide.

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Red hills primary benefits from Child Find initiative

Bahamas PM says Cabinet will discuss new anti-crime initiative following weekend murders

NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) – Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie says his government will seek to “escalate the war on crime” after gunmen over the weekend shot and killed four people during a drive-by shooting.

Prime Minister Christie in a statement following the incident on Friday night, said that he and his Cabinet colleagues were “deeply distressed by the horri?c events” and the recent incidents of violent crime in the country, generally. “We must all join in a collective effort to beat back and bury this terrible scourge upon our land once and for all,” he said, noting that following talks with Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, Cabinet would be meeting later on Monday “to strengthen and escalate the war on crime so that peace and a sense of security can be restored to our streets, our communities, and homes in the shortest possible time. Nothing is more fundamental than this. “The Bahamian people should feel assured, therefore, that my colleagues and I are absolutely resolute in our collective determination to bring crime ?rmly under control,” he said, noting that he had intended to use the cabinet meeting to formalize the deal reached with the British owned telecommunications giant, Cable and Wireless.“However, I have determined that nothing should distract us at this particular moment in time from the urgent need to escalate the war on crime. Accordingly, this crime-?ghting imperative will be the singular focus of Cabinet,” Christie said, adding that Cable & Wireless has agreed that “we should postpone the formalization of the new deal until January”.He said following the Cabinet meeting, he would be making a further statement outlining the speci?c measures “that will be implemented to battle and defeat crime in our country”.Police were continuing their search for the gunmen responsible for the drive by shootings at Fox Hill.Police Commissioner Greenslade has assured citizens that law enforcement officials were working tirelessly to capture those responsible for the crime.“We have recovered the vehicle which we believe was on the scene and occupied by those bad persons who left death…we are asking the public at large…who will certainly receive information about this to please call us as soon as you can, help us to take these dangerous people from our communities so that they kill no one else,” he added.Meanwhile, police said that a number of people will appear in court on Monday on charges ranging from murder to possession of weapons.They also said that a 29 year-old man who staged an armed robbery at the home of the Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis last month, will also be making a court appearance.

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Bahamas PM says Cabinet will discuss new anti-crime initiative following weekend murders

Bahamas PM says Cabinet will discuss new anti-crime initiative following weekend murders

NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) – Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie says his government will seek to “escalate the war on crime” after gunmen over the weekend shot and killed four people during a drive-by shooting.

Prime Minister Christie in a statement following the incident on Friday night, said that he and his Cabinet colleagues were “deeply distressed by the horri?c events” and the recent incidents of violent crime in the country, generally. “We must all join in a collective effort to beat back and bury this terrible scourge upon our land once and for all,” he said, noting that following talks with Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, Cabinet would be meeting later on Monday “to strengthen and escalate the war on crime so that peace and a sense of security can be restored to our streets, our communities, and homes in the shortest possible time. Nothing is more fundamental than this. “The Bahamian people should feel assured, therefore, that my colleagues and I are absolutely resolute in our collective determination to bring crime ?rmly under control,” he said, noting that he had intended to use the cabinet meeting to formalize the deal reached with the British owned telecommunications giant, Cable and Wireless.“However, I have determined that nothing should distract us at this particular moment in time from the urgent need to escalate the war on crime. Accordingly, this crime-?ghting imperative will be the singular focus of Cabinet,” Christie said, adding that Cable & Wireless has agreed that “we should postpone the formalization of the new deal until January”.He said following the Cabinet meeting, he would be making a further statement outlining the speci?c measures “that will be implemented to battle and defeat crime in our country”.Police were continuing their search for the gunmen responsible for the drive by shootings at Fox Hill.Police Commissioner Greenslade has assured citizens that law enforcement officials were working tirelessly to capture those responsible for the crime.“We have recovered the vehicle which we believe was on the scene and occupied by those bad persons who left death…we are asking the public at large…who will certainly receive information about this to please call us as soon as you can, help us to take these dangerous people from our communities so that they kill no one else,” he added.Meanwhile, police said that a number of people will appear in court on Monday on charges ranging from murder to possession of weapons.They also said that a 29 year-old man who staged an armed robbery at the home of the Deputy Prime Minister Philip Davis last month, will also be making a court appearance.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Bahamas PM says Cabinet will discuss new anti-crime initiative following weekend murders