In the News
Caribbean Tourism Scholarship
now for Canadians
the Caribbean Tourism Foundation
By William Doyle-Marshall
The Caribbean Tourism Foundation has now named a scholarship after Colin Rickards, a veteran journalist, who passed away suddenly last month. In making the announcement Hugh Riley Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization referred to Rickards as a virtual ambassador and a much sought after expert on Caribbean culture, a beloved and well known voice for the Caribbean for over 20 years.
Rickards was recognized for his many years of invaluable contribution to the Caribbean region.
(William Doyle-Marshall pix)
Rickards published the Caribbean Business News Magazine and reported on Caribbean and African affairs for the CBC's overseas frequency for many years before becoming a columnist for Pride News Magazine and the Caribbean Camera.
CTO Foundation's main purpose is to provide scholarships for students who are involved in areas of study that focus on tourism, languages and other related fields. Since its inception the foundation has paid out approximately $800,000 in scholarship money to students who have completed tourism studies, from technical and vocational, all the way up to PhD.
"We have four PhD's in the Caribbean now teaching tourism actually who came through the CTO Foundation, got their help through the CTO Foundation. It's a fairly significant effort and its being expanded here in Canada," Riley explained .
The Secretary General said it is very important to the CTO to make sure that Canadians have an opportunity to subscribe to that scholarship fund and Canadian students have an opportunity to apply and to benefit from that fund.
"It's not the technical textbook definition of hospitality but to my mind this is what it's really about – sharing space and breaking bread. And I am so honoured whenever people who have such an array of choices choose to come and share space and break bread with us during Caribbean Week in Toronto.
At the CTO's Rum and Rhythm event this year the Colin Rickards Foundation Scholarship was launched. Pet Marchand, the event coordinator said it was a fundraising event for the Caribbean Tourism Foundation. She was elated that the CTO would be providing scholarships to students of the Caribbean and Canada.
During a press conference as part of Caribbean Week earlier this month Riley disclosed that 12 Caribbean countries saw increases in Canadian tourists this year. CTO officials are mindful of the significant travel numbers that are recorded from Canada.
Ontario has historically been the province with the most Caribbean visitors and that trend is continuing, Riley observed.
"Even though Ontario will perhaps forever be a number one source of visitors, those of you who do a great deal of coverage across the country realize that more and more visitors to the Caribbean now are coming also from the Prairie Provinces and beyond. In fact there has been a concerted effort to get visitors from out west. Our numbers are increasing from out west as well," the Secretary General chronicled.
Over the past four years there has been a steady increase in visitors and one of the things CTO personnel track very carefully is how visitors enjoy the experience.
"We pay a great deal of attention to exit surveys; we pay huge amount of attention to understanding how we're doing and how we can do better," Riley said.
The Secretary General reminded media practitioners that the region relies on all media to tell those compelling stories and to present those enchanting images of the destination. Emphasizing that CTO administration and members never want to take that for granted, Riley expressed his thanks to media for continuing to do that.
"I am also acutely aware of the fact that when we say these things we entirely exclude those who do it on radio and so thank you very much for that as well. There was no intention to exclude the radio broadcasters but you do still present images and word pictures of the Caribbean," Riley acknowledged.
CTO further demonstrated its appreciation for the work by Canadian media and travel agents for enhancing the region's share of the Canadian tourist market.
Calgary-based editor Kailash Maharaj of Trinidad was awarded "Best of Show" title for her articles "Paradise Found" in City Style and Living Magazine".
The article about Grenada made a lasting impression on the judges for its unbelievable language that captured what Caribbean people are so proud of.
And Carmelina Crawford of Halton Trafalgar Travel received the very special Andrew R. Parris Award for being the travel agent whose work demonstrated creativity and innovation in selling the Caribbean.
"You truly embody the passion and love for the Caribbean shared by this award's namesake and we celebrate your achievements with special recognition," her plaque reads.
Andrew Parris represented the Caribbean with distinction for many years in Canada.
"Some of the trends we are focusing on to continue to earn your business, promoting the shift towards sustainable experiential tourism. It's something that the member countries of CTO offer in some excess. We make sure that we pay attention to the experience."
By William Doyle-Marshall
It's very important for everyone here to remember that in Canada the basic value of freedom means respecting other peoples' freedom even when we disagree with them, says Bob Rae, interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
While addressing the year-end gathering of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, headed by Thomas Saras, last Friday Rae told celebrants it is vital to respect other peoples' freedom to say what they like, eat what they want, to pray where they want, to speak whatever language they want and if I may say so, to wear what they want.
Rae stressed the importance of Canadians realizing that they come from different traditions and different cultures. Multiculturalism is much more than appreciating other peoples' dances.
"Multiculturalism is about respecting the depth and the reality of diversity," he advised
Many people are not comfortable with the fact that this country has become a multicultural, multinational, multi ethnic, multi racial and multi religious country, Rae observed. This is what we have become and to defend this sometimes requires courage, the MP for Toronto Center emphasized. To defend this development Rae counseled, means there are sometimes views that are expressed or thoughts that are expressed that are in fact different from what the vast majority of citizens hold, and politicians of course much prefer to pander to the majority.
"Luckily we have a constitution and we have a Charter of Rights and Freedoms which allows us to be ourselves and which has in it a reflection of the importance of understanding the differences that exist within our midst," Rae added.
In wishing everyone the very best of whatever they celebrate at this time of year, Rae hoped 2012 is going to be a great year for all, successful, prosperous and with more justice "for our country".
"I hope it's a year where we can celebrate one another and celebrate our diversity and understand that the defence of that diversity sometimes requires a little guts. I think it's important for us to congratulate those people who have shown guts. He congratulated Premier Dalton McGuinty for showing some courage the last few weeks for saying "bullying is wrong in our schools and we expect a respect for diversity. I respect him for that," Rae stressed.
Kathleen Wynn, Ontario's minister for Aboriginal Affairs reminded the gathering that all Canadians come from somewhere else except for the Aboriginal people who were here before anyone else came here.
"The reality is there were institutions that were set up to accommodate those of us who came a little bit sooner and the school system in Ontario is set up to allow Christian kids to not be in school on Sunday and to have Christmas and Easter and other time off that we do. So over the years we have evolved into a community that understands that and understands that we accommodate each other and make space for each other," she continued
The minister wants to enlist ethnic media in finding solutions to the problems of First Nations peoples here. She is deeply disturbed that one of the great painful realities of this country is that Aboriginal people suffer in ways that other Canadians do not. "That's a huge contradiction in terms of the definition of who we are as Canadians," Wynn said.
Deputy Chief of the Toronto Police Service Peter Sloly confessed that like many immigrants the community publications of his homeland helped him to better connect with his new adopted land. Understanding that freedom of the press is an important democratic function and one of the most important symbols of the functioning democracy, the Deputy Chief admitted that the police is the most visible symbol of a functioning democracy.
"If we aren't working or if we aren't appearing to be working in the eyes of newcomers then it would undermine your faith and trust in the country that you have arrived in and it is the ethnic press who has kept an eye on policing more so than any other form of media and challenged the police in this country to be better in its service to all its citizens and particularly its newest comers to this country," Sloly continued.
Sloly thanked members of the ethnic media on behalf of Chief William Blair, Chief Eric Joliffe of York Regional Police and all police officers across Canada for labouring in the shadows away from the mainstream media in the long hours at events and in small community halls across the country. Their efforts have kept Canada a vibrant democracy, focused on being an inclusive and progressive society and as an example to the rest of the world about how democracy should work, Sloly admitted.
The NEPMCC represents more than 400 ethnic publications and broadcasting operations across the country.