Above: St George’s (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Grenadian government has approved the establishment of an International Diaspora Consultative Committee, an initiative first adopted at last year’s Grenada Diaspora Founding Conference in St George’s.

The IDCC includes members of Diaspora Consultative Committees in New York, Washington, DC, Kentucky, Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and the United Kingdom. It will also include members of DCCs in Atlanta, Caracas and neighbouring Caribbean islands.

The initiative seeks to embrace the abilities of Grenadians worldwide to develop a “rationalised” approach to national development, focusing on five sectors: agribusiness, tourism and hospitality, energy development, information and communication technology and health and education and wellness service.

The IDCC will also provide a link to the Office of Diaspora Affairs in Grenada and will serve as a working group to help push Grenadians in the Diaspora to contribute to the country.

The IDCC held its first meeting March 13. The United Kingdom is the interim chair of the committee.

The full list of IDCC members is below:

Sally-Ann Richards                                 United Kingdom
Raedonna Griffith                                   United Kingdom
Merle Collins                                          Washington D.C., USA
Lisa Radix                                               Kentucky, USA
Merle Clarke                                           New York, USA
Monifa Ayind                                          Vancouver (British Columbia), Canada
Tesfa Peterson                                     Montreal (Quebec), Canada  
Paul Rose Toronto (Ontario), Canada