Bahamas News
#NASSAU, The Bahamas – February 24, 2020 — Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie A. Campbell, told a group of fifty young males that love and respect are two key factors on the road to peaceful co-existence – a co-existence, he said, that must be extended to the female population.
“Love is the foundation upon which respect is built,” Minister Campbell said. “Love is the springboard for the sexes to co-exist in harmony and to partner with each other to continue to develop and take our nation to the next level. The Bahamas I see you leading is a Bahamas that will evolve on partnerships between the sexes; good, productive co-existence between the sexes. It is even more beneficial if we can continue along this line with the same mindset, with the same kind of philosophy of peaceful, respectful co-existence, based on love. You have a major role to play in that process beginning now,” Minister Campbell added.
Addressing the L.W. Young Boys Empowerment Club’s inaugural Boys’ Empowerment Seminar, Minister Campbell told the group of fifty boys that while it is important that they show respect to and for one another, that it was equally important that they extend the same courtesy to young girls and women.
“You need to protect them, you need to ensure that no harm comes to them, you need to ensure that you love them with your words and kind and gentle actions. Ensure that you take advantage of every opportunity to get a great education because our females deserve boyfriends and husbands who are smart and intelligent. They deserve boyfriends and husbands who wear their trousers properly. They deserve boyfriends and husbands who are well groomed and properly attired. They deserve boyfriends and husbands who are hardworking, focused and steadfast, and who will open doors for them.
“I believe the potential and the capacity is right here in this room. I want to let you know that I am proud of you, that I am proud to see a group of young men doing something positive,” Minister Campbell added.
The seminar was a collaboration between officials from the Male Desk, the Department of Gender and Family Affairs, Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, and those from the L.W. Young Secondary School and the L.W. Young Boys Empowerment Club and featured presentations on topics such as The Man Box, Relationships and I am My Brother’s Keeper, Motivational Speaker, Gang Prevention and Cyber Crime. Fifty boys participated in the seminar.
Launched October 2018, with 20 young men, the Club is the brainchild of Mrs. Anita Wilmott, who saw the need for a Boys’ Mentorship Programme as a “necessary tool to combat the masculinity crisis within The Bahamas.” Mrs. Wilmott was joined in her quest by: Shiann Ellis, Juan Moss, Sherard Jones, Glen King, Dr. Antoine Clarke, Amadeus Burns, Peter Rutherford, and Diego Major. The club’s enrollment has since grown to 50.
Minister Campbell also took the opportunity to inform the group on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (also known as the CRC and the UNCRC). The Social Services Minister told the group that he has been traveling throughout The Bahamas informing young persons of their Rights under the UN Convention. Minister Campbell warned the group that with Rights, come responsibility.
“The responsibility that comes along with having rights is knowing that other persons have their rights too,” Minister Campbell said. “For example there are 50 of you in this space today. Now imagine 50 persons trying to exercise their individual rights in this small space, it is not going to work unless all 50 of you respect the other person’s rights. That is the only way you will co-exist. So if you like to listen some bombastic music, while another wants to listen to Jazz, if you respect each other enough, if you wish to co-exist, you will turn the volume down or you will wear earplugs so that you do not disturb the other person’s peace and quiet. That way, everybody is able to co-exist. Respect has to be a part of your daily living, you give it, and you get it,” Minister Campbell added.
The Social Services Minister advised the group that they are in control of their futures. He said their participation in the Boys Empowerment Club was a great start in a positive direction.
“There is no need for your future to be unpredictable, to be uncertain. You have an opportunity right now, right where you are sitting to decide the kind of positive future you want for yourselves. I challenge you boys to decide positively your future, work hard at it, take advantage of all of the opportunities that are available and make sure that you have the kind of positive future you want, the one you deserve.”
BIS STORY BY MATT MAURA
Bahamas News
Sister Province/Island Relationship Agreement Signed between Grand Bahama Island and Hunan Province
By LLONELLA GILBERT
Bahamas Information Services
NASSAU, The Bahamas — A significant milestone was made in the development of bilateral relations between the Governments of The Bahamas and the People’s Republic of China by the signing of the Sister Province/Island Relationship Agreement between Grand Bahama Island and Hunan Province.
The signing took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The Hon. Ginger Moxey, Minister for Grand Bahama; the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness; Kingsley Smith, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama and Joel Lewis, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama represented The Bahamas at the signing.
His Excellency Mao Weiming, Governor of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; Qu Hai, Secretary General of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; Cui Wei, Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; and Yang Peiran, Interpreter represented the People’s Republic of China.
Minister Moxey explained that in February 2022, she and the former Chinese Ambassador to The Bahamas, Her Excellency Dai Qingli began discussion on the establishment of a province-island relationship between Hunan Province and Grand Bahama Island because of their “immense synergy”.
“Hunan has a vibrant creative industry and its capital city, Changsha is known as the entertainment capital of China, whilst Grand Bahama is poised to become the home of entertainment in ‘Our Bluepoint for Change’.”
She said Hunan Province boasts 11 industrial sectors and Grand Bahama is the industrial capital of The Bahamas. Further, innovation driven development has been a new driving force for Hunan, while Grand Bahama is poised to become the home of innovation for The Bahamas.
Minister Moxey said she is confident that an exchange of knowledge, ideas and culture will happen between the residents of Hunan Province and Grand Bahama.
“There is potential for robust trade in various sectors, opportunities for tourism promotion and intercultural appreciation, exchanges to support performing arts programs on our island, foster growth within the Orange Economy, and tap into China’s innovation, technology and vast expertise.”
She said that the formal signing aligns with the mission of Sister Cities International, which is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation, one community at a time.
The Minister said, “Through collaborative programs and initiatives, this connection will support the government’s vision to diversity Grand Bahama’s economy to become the Home of Maritime and Logistics, Home of Events and Entertainment and Home of Innovation.”
She noted that in addition to signing the agreement, she looks forward to Grand Bahama residents benefitting from the signing of the Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding between Central South University and University of The Bahamas (UB), which will expand educational and technical cooperation between the two universities. The northern campus of UB is located in Grand Bahama.
His Excellency Mao Weiming said although geographically far apart, China and The Bahamas are friends with mutual respect and understanding as well as sincerity.
He explained that 27 years ago, both countries established diplomatic relations and China and The Bahamas have deepened their cooperation, strengthened their friendship and carried out many activities in the field of economy, trade and people-to-people exchange.
His Excellency recalled that in August 2022, he and Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis had a video conference where they both reached a consensus to cooperate in order to usher a new chapter in the relationship between Hunan and The Bahamas.
“Today, we are here to sign a sister-to-sister relationship between Hunan and Grand Bahama. It is [a] concrete move to implement
our consensus reached before and also to embark on a new journey of friendly exchanges.”
He added, “By establishing the relationship of sister cities, I believe the two sides will develop further in terms of economic and trade cooperation, people to people exchange, as well as friendship, and we will embrace new opportunities and deliver concrete benefits for the two peoples.”
He explained that Hunan, which is the home town of Chairman Mao, the founder of the People’s Republic of China, has developed very advanced industries of manufacturing, agriculture, education, culture as well as tourism.
His Excellency said he believes that Hunan and Grand Bahama enjoy very broad room for cooperation.
He said, “More efforts should be made to conduct cooperation in the fields of agriculture, tourism, culture, education and the film industry so as to realize a connectivity between our two sides in terms of logistics and the platform cooperation; so as to deliver concrete benefits for the people and to make our due contribution to the bilateral relationship between China and The Bahamas.”
PHOTO CAPTION
A significant milestone was made in the development of bilateral relations between the Governments of The Bahamas and the People’s Republic of China by the signing of the Sister Province/Island Relationship Agreement between Grand Bahama Island and Hunan Province. The signing took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Shown from left: Qu Hai, Secretary General of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; Cui Wei, Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China; Yang Peiran, Interpreter H.E. Mao Weiming, Governor of Hunan Provincial People’s Government; the Hon. Ginger Moxey, Minister for Grand Bahama; the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness; Kingsley Smith, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama and Joel Lewis, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Grand Bahama.
(BIS Photos/Anthon Thompson)
Nassau, Bahamas: The Nassau Cruise Port has donated $1.95 million towards projects that will assist the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources in its aim to increase food security for The Bahamas.
The donation officially occurred at the Ministry’s offices recently, where Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Hon. Jomo Campbell, Minister of Labour Hon. Pia Glover-Rolle, Permanent Secretary Neil Campbell and Nassau Cruise Port CEO Mike Maura listened to a number of presentations including one for a poultry programme for schools, a chicken broiler production programme, the redevelopment of the Blue Hill Road Farmers Market and an Authentic Bahamian Cultural Concept Store,
Mr. Maura said he was impressed by the presentations.
“I had the privilege to listen to the presentations and review presentations that touched on food security and the need for us to be self-sufficient, which as a Bahamian I support completely. At the Nassau Cruise Port, we get excited about the prospects of offering more authentic food to the millions of visitors that we have each year,” he said.
“And then, in addition to that, we had presentations around the further development of our artisans, which is so important to us as well. The guests visiting our shores are looking for something that really touches The Bahamas and can’t be found somewhere else. The Nassau Cruise Port has made a pledge to BAIC and its affiliates. We will be supporting the projects that were presented and we can’t wait to get started.”
Minister Glover-Rolle, who is also the Member of Parliament for Golden Gates, hailed Nassau Cruise Port as a “great community partner.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to not only present but agreeing to participate. Our Minister of Agriculture has a goal of reducing food imports by 25 percent by the year 2025 and our project in the Golden Gates Community speaks to that,” she said.
“We have a number of backyard farmers, farmers and fishers in our community in Golden Gates. Being able to use the Blue Hill Road Farmers Market, which is going to be dubbed the ‘Fish Fry of the South,’ as a hub for food security but also a hub where artisans and handicraft persons can come and sell their wares is wonderful. So, we are happy that you have agreed to partner with us and we look forward to a partnership and we hope to welcome some of your visitors when this amazing renovation is done.”
Minister Campbell also lauded the Nassau Cruise Port for its efforts.
“I would like to say thank you to the presenters for the presentations that are several steps in the right direction for our country, to Mr. Maura and his board at the Nassau Cruise Port and I would like to say thanks to God for this partnership and bringing us all together as we move forward, upward, together in building a better, brighter, future for The Bahamas,” he said.
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas#RoyalCaribbean, April 23, 2024- After being delayed following its announcement in 2020, Royal Caribbean’s new 17 acre Royal Beach Club on Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas, is now in the works and is scheduled to be ready for 2025, according to reports. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Monday April 22, signifying the start of construction in the next few months. This project is huge for The Bahamas as it’s a first of kind for the nation, with a unique public private partnership allowing Bahamians to hold up to 49 percent in equity.
-
News1 week agoDR man rented Jet Ski nine days ago in Providenciales; where is he now?
-
Health1 week agoDengue cases rising in Region
-
TCI News4 days agoExperience Turks and Caicos and Ministry of Tourism explore development of Cruise industry at Seatrade Global Cruise Conference
-
Caribbean News6 days agoCARICOM pushes need for Reparations Tribunal at Forum in Geneva
-
Education6 days agoCampus Brawl at Clement Howell High sends students to Hospital
-
Caribbean News1 week agoCARICOM, UN applauds published decree establishing Haiti’s Transitional Government
-
Caribbean News6 days agoCARICOM sends warning as Oil prices creep higher in the Israel v Iran conflict; 14 regional states import energy
-
News1 week agoAshley’s Learning Center Wraps Up Successful 7th Annual Autism Awareness Concert: “The Future is Bright”