Shifting Gears

In changing circumstances, and to reignite the planned path from 2020, the Consulate General of Barbados took the decision to be more focused on connecting with public representatives and business entities. This view, shared by the CARICOM Consular Corps, of which CG Holder is the Chair, is agreed to be the best way forward to have Barbados top of mind and secure representation for citizens.

This against the background of other nationalities surging, more State representation with Caribbean heritage and the elevation of Eric Adams, who spent two terms as Borough President of Brooklyn, where most Barbadians live, he is now Mayor of New York. There is also the sobering reality by politicians that the support of Caribbean people is needed to secure electoral wins, an open window that should be taken advantage of.

CG Holder secured an important meeting with Mayor Adams and his team in the last week of June. Representatives from Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Dominica and The Bahamas attended.

The very frank session raised matters on business facilitation and commerce, education, immigration, gun crime and trafficking, cooperation between law enforcement agencies and raising the profile of the Caribbean community through full engagement and support of Caribbean Heritage Month and such events beyond photo ops.

A separate one on one meeting was held with the Mayor’s Commissioner for International Affairs, Edward Mermelstein, with whose office an engaging working relationship has developed.

Incidentally, CG Holder was the special speaker at the Mayor’s celebration of Caribbean Heritage Month at Gracie Mansion, the official residence. The other speaker was none other than Barbadian Hon. Sylvia HindsRadix.

Consulate restarted its outreach in earnest with a session over the first weekend in April in Boston with Team Barbados - Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., (BTMI) and Invest Barbados. They held a State of the Economy and Investing event, with Special Economic Advisor, Ambassador Clyde Mascoll as the main presenter, a community interaction and supported a fundraiser. Honorary Consul Tim Downes, United Barbadians in Boston, (UBIM), the Barbados Support Group, (BSG), and individuals Joyce Stanton and Andrew Sobers assisted the New York team of CG Holder, Vice Consul Janelle Gibson and Eusi Skeete, BTMI Director, USA.

The highlight of the trip was a meeting with Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker and Mark F. Sullivan, Executive Director, Massachusetts Office of International Trade & Investment. Barbados’ history enthralled Baker, who gave high marks for Barbados’ management of Covid19. Climate change, alternative energy, flood mitigation, education and political culture were the main topics of the meeting, which went way beyond its scheduled time.

Massachusetts and Barbados share an education base, and the State has America’s biggest alternative energy programme. Flooding in Boston has also concentrated attention on mitigating the effects of climate change. There is much to gain from cooperation between Barbados and Massachusetts.

Attendance at the World Affairs Council of CT Diplomatic Reception in June, actually a business networking event, opened several new connections with beneficial possibilities, particularly in health and international business sectors. Unsurprisingly, some attendees were familiar with Barbados and sang its praises but a pleasant surprise was the Caribbean cuisine served.

A visit to the New York State Capital in Albany ostensibly for a Caribbean Heritage celebration organized by Brooklyn Assembly member Jaime Williams, delivered a day of encouraging conversations with numerous State and private sector officials. The discussions with Emblem Health and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce representatives, in particular, all ongoing, should bring benefits to the Barbadian community in New York and, hopefully, Barbados.

The hosting of polo day at Greenwich Polo Club, Connecticut, thanks to BTMI, also threw up a number of business leads, outside of tourism travel. Meeting the youngest representative in New Jersey State legislature resulted in another avenue engagement in that State besides existing links with Plainfield and Newark.

Consulate also opened discussions with the Queens Borough President for the first time and continued working with the organizers of the Africa Day online, all-day event to get back on track plans for a Caribbean-African Diaspora Summit in train since 2019.

Efforts also continued to get Barbadians and interested individuals interested in bringing investments or programmes to Barbados that could either add to existing businesses or enhance an area designated as a future income plank.

Among them, work has begun with noted filmmaker Kerwin Devonish to establish a film programme

in Barbados, second generation talent manager Tasha Stoute and her business partner Larry Shields completed an exploratory trip at the end of October on introducing a new music festival. The team of James Railey, from New York, and Marilyn Hopkins, based in Los Angeles, who are interested in cotton based fabrics and clothing manufacturing, were hosted in Barbados by CG Holder in August.

There are also ongoing discussions with a group, coordinated by Aubrey Padmore, on Derek Automotive, an alternative energy company, with a specialty in retrofitting, to explore opportunities in Barbados.

Consulate will continue the various discussions, but based on this year, 2023 looks ripe for a range of new initiatives to bear fruit in Barbados and to realize improvements in various communities where Barbadians live in the jurisdiction.