Michael King (left) representing Barbados, with Elaine Bryan, award-winning educator and Jamaican Ambassador to Washington, D.C., and Gordon Shirley, at Dr. Edward Layne and Dr. Donovan Christie's office in Buckhead, Atlanta, where several ambassadors and consuls general from various Caribbean islands held a diaspora meeting on April 28. - Contributed

The United States Conference on the Caribbean was held in Washington, D.C., from April 19 to 21. At this conference, almost all the leaders throughout the Caribbean attended with President George Bush and various members of his Cabinet.

The Caribbean diplomatic corps, representing all 35 nations, held town hall meeting in Atlanta with the Atlanta-Caribbean community. This meeting saw ambassadors and consuls general from throughout the Caribbean in attendance.

A primary mission of the diplomats is to engage the community in dialogue and to gather information regarding their concerns as Caribbean nationals residing in the United States. The information gathered will be discussed at the Caribbeangovernment-to-government meeting which will be held just prior to the conference with President Bush and his Cabinet.

These town meetings were held at Howard University in Washington D.C. and in New York and were chaired by Harold Robinson, Trinidad and Tobago's Consul General.

vital meetings

Caribbean leaders view these town meetings as vital for providing input for their meetings with the Bush administration. While speaking recently on the upcoming conference, Ellsworth John, St. Vincent's ambassador to the U.S., stated that, "It is very important to us that the diaspora becomes an important part of the meeting and the conference must build bonds with the diaspora, strengthen the government-to-government links and give our leaders a chance to interact with them in a larger and different setting."

The diaspora conference took place on Saturday, April 28. The first event was held in Buckhead and several Caribbean ambassadors and consuls general were in attendance.