Eight (8) British Overseas Territories at the 3rd Annual Montserrat Conference
Montserrat. October 10th, 2022 – The Montserrat Conference is pleased to announce that Conference ’22, the 3rd Annual Montserrat Conference, will convene on Saturday, October 22nd, at 10:00 a.m. Montserrat time, with speakers from eight (8) British overseas territories, and one island that is both French and Dutch.
Conference ’22 will consider the theme “BEING A BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORY.”
“Last year, for our second conference, we focused entirely on Montserrat,” says Shirley Osborne, Chair of The Montserrat Conference. “We asked the question, “How do we solve a problem like Montserrat?” and there were some very good discussions. People were excited and eager to get some activity started that would make a difference to Montserrat’s development on every front, but it has been extremely difficult to even begin. This, we found, is mostly because of the difficulties in the engagement that one has to have with the government and the civil service in Montserrat.
“One major obstacle to much of Montserrat’s advancement, we have come to see very clearly, is the current state of Montserrat’s sense of identity and autonomy, as well as our relationship with Britain and what we think the British think of us,” she also said.
“So, we decided to shift the focus, and our strategy, this year, and find out from people in the other overseas territories how they manage their relationships with the government of the UK.
“Our 3rd conference, therefore, will feature speakers and panelists from home and from seven other British Overseas Territories – the other five in the Caribbean, i.e. Bermuda, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and Anguilla, and also from St. Helena and the Falkland Islands.
“For comparison and reference, the feature address will be given by Shuja Reiph of St. Martin/Sint Maarten, one of our Caribbean islands which is administered by two European countries.
The speakers and panelists are:
Anguilla – Quincia Gumbs, Minister of Sustainability, Innovation and Environment
Bermuda – Chris Famous, MP Bermuda parliament
British Virgin Islands – Shaina Smith, co-host Territories Talk and host, The Vigilate Dialogues
Cayman Islands –
Falkland Islands – Sukey Cameron, Representative to the UK for the Falklands, recently retired
Montserrat – Janice Panton, Representative to the UK for the Montserrat
St. Helena – Derek Thomas, MP St. Helena Legislative Council, recently retired
St. Martin/Sint Maarten – Shuja Reiph, St. Martin national activist, cultural organizer, and trade unionist
Turks and Caicos Islands – Akierra Missick, Minister of Infrastructure, Housing Planning and Development
Conference Membership asked that this year’s conference seek to identify the similarities and differences in the relationships between the various BOTCs and the UK government, to help us in Montserrat understand some of the finer points of those relationships, and see if it were at all possible to pinpoint any areas with potential for engagement and cooperation that would serve Montserrat better in developing a more mutually satisfactory relationship with the administering powers, even given our peculiar circumstances.
REGISTRATION LINK:
Conference ’22 will be livestreamed via social media. Registration is free, but is required for people wishing to participate directly in the ZOOM discussion.
The Montserrat Conference is a public policy research group that works collaboratively to identify ideas, policies, actions and resource needs that are vital to Montserrat’s development, and ensure that these issues are the subject of focused examination and effective action by government, opinion leaders and the general public.
Conference ’22 will, like all other Montserrat Conference events, support the mission of the organisation to engage with Montserrat’s political, social and economic leadership. The Montserrat Conference is committed to publish policy papers and enhance public education through debate, discussion, conferences and other activities that will stimulate open-minded dialogue and advance informed citizen engagement.
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