CARIBBEAN REALITIES

 THE BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE
FRIDAY, JUNE 7TH – SATURDAY JUNE 8TH
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE PORTS AUTHORITY PASSENGER TERMINAL

 

 

  

Where:                 At the South Carolina Ports Authority
                          Passenger Terminal Building
                          Concord Street
                          Charleston, South Carolina

When:                 Friday, June 7th, from 8:30 – 5:00
                          Saturday, June 8th, from 9:00 – 11:00
 

For Information call:
703-516-5999, Museum of the Americas
843-577-4080, South Carolina World Trade Center
 

 

Co-Hosted by:

 
           
 
   
 
 

 

 

 


Institutional Sponsors:

Caribbean Development Bank ● Caribbean Latin America Action
Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development
 Inter-American Development Bank ● Organization of American States
 

Corporate Platinum Sponsors:

● Diageo ●
Stanford Financial Group
Caribbean Star Airlines
 

Corporate Gold Sponsors:

Scotia Bank
 

Corporate Silver Sponsors:

 HNTB ● Patton-Boggs ● Riggs Bank ● Ten State Street
 

 Partner Organizations:

Amcham ● Caribbean Association of the Carolinas ● Circulo Hispano-Americano De Charleston ● Gullah Nation ● SC Department of Commerce ● SC State Ports Authority ThinkTec ● World Trade Centers Association
 

South Carolina was first settled by planters from Barbados, bringing with them a tropical plantation economy, which they transferred to the semi-tropical climate of the Carolina coastal lowlands. Here the flat Low Country and many Sea Islands are laced with slow flowing rivers, creeks and marshes, and here planters brought thousands of slaves directly from Africa.
 

In 1902, the City of Charleston held the Charleston-West Indies Exposition to stimulate trade with Latin America and the Caribbean, through cultural exchange.

Join us, 100 years later, to reflect upon that time, and to harvest the seeds of friendship planted long ago.  Learn how each Caribbean nation has changed, developed, grown. About economic development plans underway now.   And about upcoming projects, funded by the Washington based development banks, in which US companies can participate.
 

The relationship between the Caribbean and the Southeast United States has always been unique.  Become a part of the prosperity.

AGENDA AND LIST OF SPEAKERS

Friday, June 7th, from 8:30 – 5:00 & Saturday, June 8th, from 9:00 – 11:00
South Carolina State ports Authority Passenger Terminal, Charleston, South Carolina
 

Friday, June 7

8:00 - 8:30: Registration Caribbean Realities:

8:30 - 9:30: Welcoming Remarks:

·        The Honorable Joseph Riley, Mayor, City of Charleston;
The Honorable Joseph P. Riley will present a Proclamation
Designating Charleston, SC as the Gateway to the Caribbean
 

·        Professor Nelson Pilosof, World Trade Centers Association

·        Mr. Bernard S. Groseclose, Jr., President & CEO South Carolina State Ports Authority

·        Mr. Paul Tecklenburg, Chairman, South Carolina World Trade Center

·        Mr. Allen Stanford, Stanford Financial Group
 

9:30 - 9:50: Introduction to Caribbean Realities, Bridge to the Future

·        Ms. Lucy Duncan, President, Museum of the Americas

·        H.E. Michael King, Ambassador of Barbados
 

9:50 -10:10: The Honorable James E. Clyburn, S.C. Congressman presents, The Bridge to 2002:
Traversing a Century of Relations Between the Caribbean and the South.
 

10:15 – 10:45 Caribbean Realities Reflects on the Charleston West Indies Exposition of 1902 with noted expert and author, Mr. Anthony Chibbaro. Slides and stories from his recently published book, Images of America: The Charleston Exposition.

10:45 - 11:00: Coffee Break (Courtesy of Jamaica’s Blue Mountain)

11:00 - 12:30: The Bridge to Global Competitiveness:

Infrastructure, Energy, Communications and Technology –

Perspectives:
 

·        Communications and Technology: His Excellency Lester Bird, Prime Minister, Antigua and Barbuda

·        Infrastructure and Energy: His Excellency Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
 

Private Sector Response:

Communications - AOL Time Warner – The Internet – the Vital Link in the Caribbean (speaker tbd);  
Technology: Digital Islands – High Tech and High Life, The Honorable Philip Paulwell, Minister of Technology, Jamaica

2:30 – 1:30: Lunch

1:45 – 2:45: Panel Discussion:

              Understanding the role of the Commercial and Development Banks in Building Bridges to the Future
Moderator:  Dr. Roderick Rainford, Executive Director, Caribbean Region, Inter-American Development Bank
 

Created in 1959 by the United States and 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries, the Inter-American Development Bank works to stimulate economic and social development in the region. Membership now includes 28 countries in the Western Hemisphere, and 18 outside the region, making it the largest as well as the oldest regional multilateral development institution.  Annual IDB lending averages between US$6 billion and US$7 billion.  Total investment in projects financed by the IDB is estimated at more than US $220 billion. 
 

  • The Honorable L. Ronald Scheman, Director General, Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development, Organization of American States
  • Mr. Compton Bourne, President, Caribbean Development Bank
  • Mr. Stephen F. Cozier, Vice President, International Banking, Scotia Bank
  • Mr. Neville Behahaire, Division Chief, English Speaking Caribbean Countries, Inter American Dev. Bank

2:45 - 3:45: The Bridge to Expanding Tourism – His Excellency Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister, Grenada
                       Promoting Knowledge of the Region’s Cultural Environmental Heritage
 

·        Professor Nelson Pilosof, President of World Trade Center Montevideo, Chairman of the World Trade Centers Association Committee on Tourism, Hospitality & Cultural Exchange, and World Trade Centers Association Regional Coordinator for Latin America and Caribbean

·        The Honorable Donna M. Christian-Christensen, Delegate, United States Virgin Islands

·        Vincent Vanderpool Wallace, Director General of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Bahamas

·        Florida Cruise Line Association

·        Vanesa Turner Maybank, Director of Tourism, Office of the Mayor, City of Charleston
 

3:45 - 4:00       Coffee Break

4:00 - 4:30       Bridge to Prosperity – The Many Faces of Trade

Perspective:    

·        The Honorable Lionel A. Hurst, Ambassador, Antigua and Barbuda

·        The Honorable Dennis Antoine, Ambassador, Grenada

·        The Honorable Ellsworth John, Ambassador, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

·        The Honorable Richard Bernal, Director General,

Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery Shaping Western Hemispheric Policy on Trade (served as Ambassador of Jamaica to the United States 1992- 2002)
                   

4:30 - 5:00:      Closing Remarks:
                       Caribbean Realities, Creating a Coalition for Prosperity in the 21st Century

·        Hon. Professor Rex Nettleford, Vice Chancellor, University of the West Indies
 

Saturday, June 8
 

Open dialogue with Caribbean Realities – The Bridge to the Future.  Meet Speakers and Panelists, and Project Managers from the Inter-American Development Bank One-on -one in an off-the-record informal business discussion.

9:00 - 9:45: Panel discussion with companies that successfully fulfilled contracts with Development Banks

9:00 - 11:00:Break Out Discussions

End of Conference

The Museum of the Americas Caribbean Realities Book Fair will be running concurrently on both Friday and Saturday morning with current writers, scholars and featured speakers. 

Caribbean Realities Events, Open to the Public, Free of Charge:
 

June 7 and 8, concurrent with Bridge to the Future Business Forum: The Caribbean Book Fair, Passenger Terminal, Port of Charleston  - a comprehensive and lively network of presentations, roundtables and one-on-one discussions will take place through out Caribbean Realities events and will also mark the launch of the Caribbean Book Club.  Authors and artistes, including the world-renowned Geoffrey Holder, will be available to sign their books, videos, and cd’s during this unparalleled literary feast that introduces a wide selection of the rich world of Caribbean Books.

June 6,7  - Fountain Walk Park, adjacent to the Charleston Aquarium

Caribbean Spice:  This two day event, June 6th and 7th will embrace the multi-ethnic diversity of the Caribbean region by creatively showcasing the various cuisine of the islands.  From Jamaican Jerk to Bahamian conch fritters, this event promises to excite even the most experienced palette!  The international food extravaganza will be complimented by a bevy of Caribbean artists, producers and craft vendors.  Paintings, pottery, woven baskets and nutmeg jelly, CARIBBEAN SPICE offers guests a spectacular array of cultural products.  Majestic rhythms of Trinidadian steel pan musicians will float through the air while costumed stilt-walkers promenade high above the crowd.

The Travel Tent will bring together tourism interests in the Caribbean – Airlines, Hotels, Attractions – and will provide first hand information and contacts with representatives of these organizations.  This travel tent will offer unparalleled, direct and up to date information and access for the consumers and travel agencies visiting the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.

June 7, 7 pm – 11 pm

CARIBBEAN DANCE PARTY

Fountain Walk, adjacent to South Carolina Aquarium

Dance along Harbor Walk to the eclectic music of the Caribbean.  Familiar bands will perform reggae, calypso, soca, zouk, salsa, merengue, compas and oldies tunes from the Caribbean.  International steel pan artists and reggae musicians will bring their unique talents to the stages of the Low country during a special version of a Piccolo Spoleto favorite, the Reggae Block Dance. 
 

Registration

Caribbean Realities “Bridge to the Future”

Please complete the form below, and return via fax to 843-577-6003 or mail to the
SCWTC at 385 Meeting Street, Suite 102; Charleston, SC  29403
Or for more information contact the SC World Trade Center at 843-577-4080
 

Seating is limited so please register as soon as possible to guarantee a seat

     $125 Yes!  Please register me for the Caribbean Realities “Bridge to the Future” Friday- Saturday, June 7-8, 2002 (Includes registration for both days and Luncheon: Our Cultural Heritage is a Catalyst for Revitalization)

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