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| Cayman Lead Dancer Susan Barnes-Periera and Westwood Park Producer Danielle Dieffenthaller |
PHILIPSBURG - More than 150 entrepreneurs are expected to participate in the First Caribbean Young Entrepreneurs Symposium scheduled to take place on St. Maarten at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort from May 24 to 27.
"Turning Passions Into Enterprise" is the organization's slogan for YES. According to Nerissa Golden, President of Truly Caribbean Network the event is geared towards young business-minded people who are interested in starting their own business or have already begun a new venture.
"Our goal is to provide an event that will give Caribbean people a much-needed boost to take their dreams from ideas to reality. There will be four-days of workshops led by local and regional entrepreneurs and other professionals who have hands on knowledge of the challenges and pitfalls of starting a business," explained Golden.
Although their will be many general sessions on business development, special emphasis will be made on the areas of technology, the performing arts, television and film production.
The TCN President said that young people on St. Maarten as in many other Caribbean islands are finding new ways of using technology to earn a living but added there are many others who are not even aware that a hobby is actually a potential money maker. The same is true for persons in the Arts.
"We are hungry to see our stories, our islands, and our culture on film, in print, and on the airwaves. YES is an opportunity for these dreamers to learn how to do that."
Presenters include Westwood Park's Producer Danielle Dieffenthaller of Trinidad & Tobago, Dancer, Susan Barnes-Periera
of the Cayman Islands, Techpreneur Gregory Richardson of St. Maarten, and conference host Nerissa Golden, a prolific entrepreneur and creator of the Truly Caribbean franchise.
Highlights of the symposium include the Me Inc. workshops which provides face to face sessions with the speakers to discuss the nitty gritty of turning your creative skills into a viable business; the Telem Group Tech & Arts Expo, the Caribbean Showcase which will offer participants the opportunity to perform and show their talents, video or film productions; and the YES Awards ceremony to recognize local and regional Outstanding Entrepreneurs.
The conference fee is US$ 125 and includes participation in all workshops. For more information on the conference and to register call (011) 599-523-3731 or log on to www.trulycaribbean.net.
