Garifuna Coalition

The Garifuna Coalition Meets with SVG Consul General and COSAGO
1 of 2 8/31/09 3:32 AM
Subject: The Garifuna Coalition Meets with SVG Consul General and COSAGO
From: José Francisco Ávila
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:36:11 -0700 (PDT)
To: Jose Avila
The Garifuna Coalition Meets with St Vincent
and the Grenadines Consul General and SVG
Organizations

As one people in many lands, we shape our nation
with many hands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 30th, 2009

Contacts: José Francisco Ávila (917) 783-5298
info@garifunacoalition.org http://www.garifunacoalition.org/news

New York – The Garifuna Coalition USA , Inc. a, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit is
happy to announce that members of the its Board of Directors recently met with the Honorable Cosmus
Cozier, Consul General of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), as well as representatives of the
Council of St Vincent and the Grenadines Organizations USA Inc. (COSAGO).

The purpose of the meeting was for the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc’s members to
meet the various Vincentian organizations that operate in New York, as part of its
efforts to reestablish the link with St. Vincent and the Grenadines "Yurumein" the
Ancestral Homeland of the Garifuna people and Consul General Cozier’s continued
effort to integrate the Garifunas to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines USA
Diaspora.

As part of this effort, members of the Garifuna Coalition were also invited to
participate in the Regional Vincy Homecoming 2009 Diaspora Conference held in
Brooklyn, NY last May, which was spearheaded by the Regional Integration and
Diaspora Unit/Office of the Prime Minister (RIDU); where the St Vincent and the
Grenadines USA Diaspora Framework for Action was presented. The Framework
for Action provides recommendations for action on behalf of and between SVG and
its people who live in the Diaspora. It contains proposals that give concrete
meaning to the theme of Vincy Homecoming 2009: “As one people in many
lands, we shape our nation with many hands.” The National Homecoming
Conference is scheduled for October 21 – 23 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
and the Garifuna Coalition plans to send a representative.

The Garifuna Coalition is committed to the Framework for Action and plans to
The Garifuna Coalition Meets with SVG Consul General and COSAGO
2 of 2 8/31/09 3:32 AM
implement the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with The Garifuna
Heritage Foundation of St Vincent and the Grenadines, to promote the Garifuna
Heritage and Culture in all parts of the Garifuna Diaspora as well as support the
Renaissance of the Garifuna Heritage and Culture in St. Vincent and the
Grenadines "Yurumein" the Ancestral Homeland of the Garifuna people.

We appreciate Consul General Cozier’s efforts and look forward to working with
the Council of St Vincent and the Grenadines Organizations USA Inc. (COSAGO).”
said Marcia Gomez, Vice-President of the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc.
###

About the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc.
The Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization
which serves as an advocate for the Garifuna community. It was founded on May 9th, 1998 and
was incorporated as a Domestic not for Profit Corporation on May 28, 1999 and is registered
with the New York State Attorney General Charities Bureau.
Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc.
Garifuna Pride - Our Voice - Our Vision
www.garifunacoalition.org
http://www.myspace.com/garifunacoalition

SVGConsul-PressReleases.pdf Content-Type: application/pdf
Content-Encoding:base64

Pirates

I ran across some old production notes for "Pirates" at

http://madeinatlantis.com/pirates/production/production7.htm

Has some links, too.

Ferry to come?

On Abeni's blog:

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Island Ferry on the way
On October 1st, 2009 an inter island ferry service based in Grenada will be officially launched. However, the actual voyages will begin on October 20th. The ferry seats over 200 with the rates falling between 120 to 140 USD for the average three hour trip. Travel, from what I gather will be between the islands of Barbados, St Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Given our disgust with LIAT it should be interesting to see the response. Their rates are certainly cheaper than LIAT's disgustingly high offers and three hours is a shorter trip than one to Union Island. I assume that passengers would also be allowed more weight than the 40 0r 45 lbs given by LIAT. By the way I must find out the estimated time of arrival at each port. I don't imagine it will take 3 hours for each destination so I am hoping that it will take less than three hours for some port.

I wish the BEDY Corporation well.

# posted by Abeni @ 6:04 AM
Comments:
sounds like a nice way to get from island to island if you're not in a rush. wonder what times they'll be running?
# posted by Jdid : 10:32 AM
Lots of new ventures popping up. Hard times forcing new ideas. We have a new flight service from Mo-Bay to Kingston which is suppose to be more convenient than the big carriers. Hope it works out.
# posted by Scratchie : 11:12 AM
Post a Comment

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Marine Research

This is on the SVG Tourism site:



News [8/19/2009]

Come Join a Grenadines Research Cruise for the Day!

The media and interested members of the public from across the Grenadines are being given the exciting opportunity to spend a day on a research cruise that is mapping the rich underwater bounty of these islands.

The cruise expedition, is being led by members of the the Sustainable Grenadines Project and Kim Baldwin, a PhD student with the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at the Unversity of the West Indies, Cave Hill in Barbados. It is a major collaboration effort between multiple organisations across the two countries of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The cruise launches in St. Vincent on August 4 and will be working its way up from the Bequia Channel all the way to Il de Rhonde in the south, finishing on August 31.

While the cruise organisers will not be responsible for transporting persons to and from the catamaran, interested persons are invited to organise their own transportation and come out to meet the boat as it passes through their waters. Alternately, the boat will stop and spend some time on each island for a couple of days, which will provide opportunities to catch up with the crew. Regular updates on the boats schedule will be provided through the e-group: grenadinesMarSIS@yahoogroups.com

The month-long research cruise falls under the Marine Resource and Space-use Information System (MarSIS) project. This project is creating a habitat map of the sea around the Grenadines and highlighting areas of importance to the various marine resource users, including critical marine resources such as reefs, seagrasses and mangroves. Local communities will be consulted to identify other areas which are important for conservation and the livelihoods of the Grenadine people. The MarSIS research is unique in that it brings together data from many sources (including local knowledge) so that a transboundary marine space-use information system can be developed. This will aid planning and management in the Grenadines marine environment in order to preserve it for future generations.

This cruise is sponsored by The Moorings, Mustique Company, The Lighthouse Foundation, Tobago Cays Marine Park and the St Vincent & the Grenadines Fisheries Division. The crew consists of two Grenadines fishers, a local captain, two fisheries biologists (one from St. Vincent Fisheries Division & one from Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism) as well as two UWI students.

For more information on how you can get involved or to plan a day-trip please contact the Sustainable Grenadines Project in Union Island at 784-485-8779 or contact Kim Baldwin via email at baldwin.kimberly@gmail.com or on the boat cell # 784-454-0606
Hope to see many of you on the water this month!


[8/7/2008]



©1999-2004 The St Vincent and the Grenadines Department of Tourism



And this appeared in the Providence (Rhode Island) Journal:

Vassar Instructor Wins Fulbright Grant
Meg Stewart, instructional technologist at Vassar College, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and do research at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill campus, in Barbados during the 2009-10 academic year, according to the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Stewart will work on a mapping project in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, looking at sustainable use of marine resources and making this geospatial information available online in Google Earth and a Web map. She will also teach a geographic information system class in the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies graduate program at the university.
Stewart is one of approximately 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in 2009-10.
For information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, visit http://fulbright. state.gov or contact James Lawrence, Office of Academic Exchange Programs, telephone 1-202-453-8531 or e-mail fulbright@state.gov.


Sounds like the seas around the Grenadines will be crowded. I'll follow the blogs.

Our PM

A picture of Dr. Gonsalves uploaded to Wikipedia Commons on http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr_ralph_gonsalves.jpg

Another Tourist Note

ST VINCENT WEST INDIAN CUISINE
By Douglas Scott
An island country in the central Windward Islands of the West Indies. It comprises St Vincent Island and the northern islets of the Grenadines. Part of the West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962, the country gained self governing status in 1969 and full independence in 1979. Kingstown, on St. Vincent, is the capital.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy and export crops include bananas and arrowroot. Tourism is also important.
The islands are composed of volcanic rock. Thickly wooded volcanic mountains run north south and are cut by many swift streams. Soufriere the highest of the mountains has had devastating volcanic eruptions.

The country is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative house, its chief of state is the British monarch represented by the governor general, and the head of government is the prime minister. The French and the British contested for control of Saint Vincent until 1763, when it was ceded to England by the Treaty of Paris.

From casual and economical to elegant and exclusive, lodgings in St Vincent and the Grenadines offer something for every taste and budget. The choice ranges from a rustic cottage on the beach or a historic country hotel in the mountains, to a luxury resort with an island to itself. Young Island, an idyllic small island off the south coast of St Vincent, has a cottage community of separate huts including all modern facilities. All hotels are small and emphasise personal service.

Tropical, with trade winds tempering the hottest months, June and July.

St Vincent, like all the Wind wards, is volcanic and mountainous with luxuriant vegetation and black sand beaches. The Grenadines are equally lush. Secluded coves, spectacular coral reefs, rainforest hiking and superb sailing conditions are among the main tourist attractions.

St Vincent is one of the few islands where good West Indian cuisine can almost always be enjoyed in hotels. There is plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and other seafood on offer. Lobster is available in season.

Most evening events take place in hotels and it is best to ask at individual hotels for a calendar of events. Nightclubs include the Aquatic club and the Buccama Club on the Leeward Coast. The Attic in Kingstown features a wide variety of music during the week and live entertainment at weekends. There is one casino on the island, at Peniston, on the Leeward side.

Designs on sea island cottons can be bought and made up into clothes within a few days at a number of shops. Handicrafts and all varieties of straw made items, grass rugs and other souvenirs can be bought at a number of workshops and gift shops.

Douglas Scott works for The Rental Car Hire Specialist. and is a free lance writer for TheSt Vincent Rental Site

Young Island Promo

A nice promo on Young Island


A Caribbean Honeymoon On A Small Island Off St. Vincent by Gordon Steven

Why you should consider Young Island Resort off the coast of Saint Vincent as the destination for your Caribbean Honeymoon
A Caribbean Honeymoon spent on Young Island off the south coast of Saint Vincent could be just the little piece of heaven you are looking for.
Young Island resort comes heavily recommended by everyone who has stayed there because this is a resort where you will get top class service, fantastic food, a very good wine selection, and last but not least peace, quiet, and tranquility. Be warned this won’t be a Caribbean Honeymoon full of the nightly Jump Up, or even television in your room. Young Island resort is definitely not like that, but caters instead for honeymooners, and discerning guests.
For your Caribbean Honeymoon it is recommended that you have a cottage right on the beach, so that you can just walk out, go along a path and you hit the very nice fresh water swimming pool, which unusually for the Caribbean is open 24 hours a day every day.
The back door takes you across the patio and onto the beach, which is cleaned every morning, and so it is absolutely spotless. You can snorkel off the beach, having borrowed the gear from the man who looks after guests down there, probably best described as the beach attendant.
If you can book Cottage Number six which is a luxury cottage on the beach with a plunge pool, and behind the cottage hammocks and a gazebo.
One of the best things in an hotel on any holiday are waitress served meals, in other words non buffet. This always denotes a quality resort which Young Island certainly is, and this type of service should give the reader a big tip if they are thinking of making a booking on Young Island for their Caribbean Honeymoon. The food generally speaking is amazing, and you can expect a lot of beautiful seafood including freshly caught crab, lobster, scallops, as well as lamb, steak, poultry. Meals are taken in little thatched gazebos, and the view from the tables is incredible. The meals were described by someone recently as absolutely scrumptious, including and especially the home made yoghurts at breakfast
You may wish to be completely idle if this is where you are spending your Caribbean Honeymoon, but one bit of exercise you should take is to walk up to the top of the island. It may not be very energetic but the view is worth it, as is the walk along the beach at sunset and watch dusk at what is aptly called Sunset Point.
The staff at Young Island have ready smiles, and are friendly and very helpful.
The real beauty about Young Island resort is that it is small with not so many guests so you do tend to engage more people in conversation. This means you do meet some very interesting people, who are much like you because they too have chosen this superb Island resort.
Young Island is beautiful and the perfect spot for a Caribbean Honeymoon. There are masses of brightly coloured flowers which only adds to the romantic atmosphere.
For more information about St Vincent and the Grenadines go to http://www.caribbean-vacationspots.com/categories/St-Vincent-and-The-Grenadines/

About The Author
Gordon Steven writes exclusively for http://www.caribbean-vacationspots.com as well as http://www.worldwidevacationspots.com and has visited personally many of the places he reports on, and has done extensive research on the others

Editorial from Searchlight

Argyle Airport- Our collective responsibility
14.AUG.09


St. Vincent and the Grenadines must be a strange place indeed, if we are to judge by the attitude of its people. For umpteen years we have lamented the lack of an international airport, suffering from the consequences much like our sister island Dominica. These two countries are the only ones among independent nations in the Caribbean which lack direct international connections by air. As a result, there is a brake on the pace of economic development, both from the standpoint of limiting export possibilities, as well as restricting the flow of foreign investment, especially in the tourism sector. The difficulties being faced in our air transport provisions, currently, only serve to underline the importance of having such a facility, thereby enhancing choices.

Given this situation, it is no surprise that the construction of an international airport on national soil has long been a Vincentian dream. Over the years, successive governments have tinkered with the idea, but seem to have been daunted by the sheer size, and cost, of such a project in a country in which flat land is a scarce commodity. It has taken the courage and audacity of Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves to take the plunge and actually embark on this gargantuan task. 

One would have thought that there would have been overwhelming support for the realization of the national dream, but, lo and behold, the vagaries of partisan politics are such that even some persons long considered as "patriots" are expressing reservations and, in some quarters, scarcely concealed opposition to the project. Not that every act or pronouncement by the government in pursuit of this goal has been beyond criticism, but it is one thing to be critical of certain approaches and to be concerned about the financial implications of the undertaking, quite another to be openly opposed to what can only be good for St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

This is no easy period to be undertaking such a mammoth task. Since the Argyle airport project was launched, the international economic climate has worsened with recession the order of the day in most countries, small and large alike. This makes it far more difficult to attract funding for such an endeavour. But what does one do? Put a halt to the project and wait and hope for better conditions? By that time, the cost is sure to escalate as it has already done even while work is in progress. When will be "the right time?" Or are we doomed never to have direct international air transport connections?

The airport project is proceeding, thanks to the generosity of a wide range of countries assisting us, from Taiwan to Iran, from Austria to Cuba, from Trinidad to Venezuela. We must all be grateful to them for their kindness and demonstration of international solidarity. But these countries are themselves not immune from the global economic crisis and natural disasters. Venezuela, for instance, a major donor to the project, has seen its oil revenues decline drastically. As a result, it has been forced to make budgetary adjustments at home and to propose less generous terms for PetroCaribe assistance. It has also not yet been able to supply the quantity of heavy equipment requested by the government of SVG.

Cuba, whose major contributions are in kind, is itself reeling from the economic crisis and from the blows of successive hurricanes last year. It has just readjusted its growth projections for this year downward from 6 per cent to 1.7 per cent. Even Taiwan, one of the "Asian Tigers," is feeling the pinch. Tax revenue in the first half of this year fell by 20 per cent, as compared with last year. Now it has had a major hit from a typhoon, compounding the economic woes.

All this means that completing the Argyle International Airport becomes all the more difficult, but complete it we must. The burden will become lighter if we first adopt more positive attitudes to it. Listening to some people on air, it seems as though we are willing it to fail. In which case, who will be the loser? Ralph Gonsalves, the ULP or the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines? It would also help if not just the Opposition, but the Prime Minister and his Government, stop linking the airport project to the next general election. Support for the international airport must not be equated with support for any party, rather with a commitment to national development. It is also unfortunate that the government took so long to solicit contributions from Vincentians, thereby fuelling the skepticism and rumours that the project is in financial difficulties. Of course, the project needs funding, and if the people of Trinidad and Tobago, Taiwan, Cuba and Venezuela can help, it is our duty to play our part and help to shoulder the burden. We are the ones who will ultimately benefit.

Piracy News

Three Indians among 30 missing as ship sinks off Qatar

July 1st, 2009 MUMBAI - At least three Indian crew members are among 30 reported missing after an offshore vessel sank off the Doha coast in Qatar, an Indian maritime authority said here Wednesday. The offshore vessel, Demas Victory, bearing the flag of St Vincent & the Grenadines, had six Indians in the 35-member crew when it sank Tuesday.

Grenadines Underwater Map

Underwater mapping system being developed for the Grenadines

* By Carmel Haynes
Caribbean PressReleases.com

Research will lay foundation for Grenadines to be named a World Heritage Site

The sustainable development of this unique island chain is being given a boost through a major collaboration effort between multiple organisations across the countries of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which will result in a first of its kind map of the unique underwater features of the Grenadine island chain.

This mapping expedition will take place from August 16th to September 5th, 2009, when the Sustainable Grenadines Project, conducts a fact-finding cruise through the Grenadine Islands under the leadership of Kim Baldwin, a PhD researcher with the Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) at the University of West Indies, Cave Hill.

This three-week research cruise will identify and document critical marine-life habitats such as reefs, seagrasses, and mangroves through SCUBA diving and the use of a live-action drop camera that can descend to 250 ft. Data gathered through these methods will be combined to create a first-of-its-kind 3-D underwater map of the Grenada Bank. Local knowledge will not be left out as communities across the Grenadines will be asked to identify areas important for conservation and livelihoods through a series of on-land consultations during the cruise. The cruise will travel from the Vincentian mainland to Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, the Tobago Cays Marine Park, Union Island, Petit Saint Vincent and Petit Martinique, Carriacou and Il de Rhonde.

This cruise forms part of Baldwin’s, PhD research project. The Grenadines Marine Resource and Space-use Information System (MarSIS) project is unique in that it brings together data from many sources (including local knowledge) so that a transboundary marine geographic information system (GIS) can be developed. This research will aid planning and management of the Grenadines marine environment in order to preserve it for future generations. Furthermore this research and development of the MarSIS will lay the foundation for the designation of the area as a World Heritage Site.

This cruise is sponsored by The Moorings, Lighthouse Foundation/Sustainable Grenadines, Mustique Company, Tobago Cays Marine Park, CERMES-UWI & PADI AWARE Foundation. The crew consists of two Grenadines fishers, a marine park ranger from the Tobago Cays Marine Park, a local captain and two fisheries biologists from the UWI.

Interested community members and the press are invited to come aboard the research catamaran for a day as we sail and explore the uncharted marine habitats of the Grenadines. For more information on this initiative or to plan a day-trip please contact the Sustainable Grenadines Project in Union Island at 784-485-8779 or contact Kim Baldwin via email at baldwin.kimberly@gmail.com or on the boat cell # 784-454-0606. Interested persons can also stay updated with cruise activities by checking out the website www.grenadinesmarsis.com; or by closely following the Grenadines MarSIS BLOG http://blog.grenadinesmarsis.com/, which will carry a daily sailing log of activities, pictures and drop-camera video footage