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UWI AND RASTAFARI COMMUNITY TO JOINTLY HOST THIRD TRIENNIAL ASSEMBLY

The third Rastafari Studies Conference and General Assembly will be hosted by the Rastafari Studies Centre – Special Project, Office of the Principal, UWI Mona in collaboration with the Rastafari Community from August 14 – 21, 2016. The conference will be situated on the Mona and Western Jamaica Campuses of the University of the West Indies and in the general Rastafari Community at venues to be announced.  The theme for this year’s conference is The African Millennium in Perspective: Rastafari Business Enterprise Development. All are invited to participate.

The first conference hosted in 2010 commemorated two important anniversaries; the 50th anniversary of the publication of the “Report on the Rastafari Movement in Kingston, Jamaica” and the inception of the Rastafari movement itself in 1930. The second conference occurred three years later on August 13 – 16, 2013 and memorialized the 50th Anniversary of the Coral Gardens Massacre. 

This year marks the third triennial staging of the conference and general assembly and will emerge to continue a year of celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of the Visit of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I to the Caribbean. 

The conference theme and its related call for action research and projects invites Rastafari and other related stakeholders to celebrate and explore Rastafari herbal innovation and naturopathic lifestyle with specific focus on ganja and the new decriminalisation atmosphere. The conference departs from focusing on paper presentations and submissions this year towards enlisting of more connected grassroots oriented strategies for community development and empowerment. 

As such, we hope to provide attendees and participants with a holistic view of the industry through the delivery of workshops, forums and panels geared at training and development as well as public education and information gathering. Other areas of focus including ganja are herbal medicines, organic wines, ital nutrition, organic farming and training and institutional development. Within the context of the Golden Jubilee, participants are also welcome to explore the Visit of the 1966 regional visit of H.I.M to Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Haiti.

Over its one-week staging, some highlights will include the following:

Rastafari Business Seminars Day, the event will offer comprehensive business advice and capacity building forums to entrepreneurs and SMEs. Features will include an Apiculture Clinic and forums on funding, brand establishment and marketing as well as distribution and export.

Nightly cultural shows and performance events at 22 West Road. 

The conference will host its second Elders’ Care Clinic and Wellness Day in conjunction with Country Farmhouse/Rastafari Business and Professional Association from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm on Sunday August 14, 2016 at the Old Dramatic Theatre, UWI Mona. The clinic will offer basic medical, dental, optical and legal attention and diagnosis to Rastafari Elders and the community in general. The clinic will be replicated in Montego Bay on August 20, 2016, with the schedule moving to Montego Bay after Wednesday August 17th. The activities in Montego Bay will be held in conjunction with the Rastafari Coral Gardens Benevolent Society.

A Keynote Address at the Opening Ceremony on Monday August 15, 2016 at 6:00 pm.

A special airing of the radio show Ganja Talk will broadcast live from the Rastafari Studies Centre, 22 West Road UWI Mona on Monday August 15 and Tuesday August 16, 2016 at 9:00 pm. 

The conference will observe the celebrations for Marcus Garvey’s Earthday on Wednesday, August 17, 2016, marking the day with Rastafari United Front’s (South Africa) Summit at 9:00 am. 

Friday August 19, 2016 will feature the conference’s Closing Ceremony and Awards at the Western Jamaica Campus of the University of the West Indies at 6:00 pm.

Conference participants are invited to participate in Irie FM’s Marcus Garvey Celebrations at White River on Sunday August 21, 2016, the official final day of the conference. 

The RSC2016 will also feature a Vendor’s Village at West Road featuring Rastafari and Jamaican art, craft, fashion and cuisine. 

The conference will also offer ganja testing and related equipment demonstrations and sale. 

 


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