Imagine Jamaica 50

A Jamaican Day in 2062:Day 6

August  6, 2062

Today is the Centenary Day of Jamaica Independence from Great Britain!   Of course it is a great day in history!  I am looking forward to the pomp and circumstance.  They will have Special Seating arranged for 1000 Centenarians like me, who are beneficiaries of the DNA LifeSystems Protocol invented in 2032.  JaComGlobal has leased 1000 links on the GlobalComSatellite because of the number of SmartComms and HoloVisors they anticipate linking in — 100 million people around the World, as well as on the Moon and Mars Colonies.

The Government has invited 100 Most Influential Jamaicans from around the World.  Included among them are the Vice-President of the USA who has Jamaican grandparents; the Attorney General of the UK; Nobel Prize Winners for Sports Science; and the GrandDaughter of Bob Marley, who is Chief Information Officer of the GlobalComSatellite.  Also at the Stadium to partake in the Grand Gala will be the members of the Golden Jubilee Olympic  Team, led by Dr. Asafa Powell, now Spiritual Counselor of the Jamaica National Sports Authority.   Powell,  Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake – known fondly as the Bolt, the Beast and the Blessed, along with their former Team Mates are collectively  Jamaica’s greatest business leaders and philanthropists.   As shareholders in the world’s tenth  largest neutraceutical company, founded in 2016 after the Brazil Olympics, they have parlayed their sporting mystique into billions of $V dollars with goods and services including the VGAME  JamRockaz which at  15 million unique players remains one of the most popular interactive video games globally.  And that is just one of the many success stories we will celebrate in this catawampus Gala!

As we close out 100 years of independence, we have a lot to give thanks for.   Even as we agree that independence is an illusion,  we can be proud that in this state of global interdependence, Jamaica has carved out a space as a cultural icon and spiritual powerhouse.  The Gaiaists highly successful  “Green is the Color of God” Campaign – which ran from 2015-2035, engineered a transformation of the society to a respect for the land and nature that saved Jamaica from the worst ravages of climate change.  We also have to be thankful for the Diaspora, who during the twenties invested heavily in the youth with an integrated system of afterschool clubs —  enterprise, science and technology, arts, and sports — which ensured that every teen had the opportunity to find and develop their niche talent.  We have to give thanks that we can still breathe real air and eat real food, even when we complain about the costs as some people around the world have to live in a bubble!  And finally, we have to give thanks for our health!  We don’t have the quarantines of other countries – and our DNA specific regimes allow people like me to enjoy 100 years of sound mind and relatively useful body.  To God Be the Glory!  We lickle but we tallawah fe true!

QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION:

What if every Jamaican teen was part of an integrated system of afterschool skills training?  What is Jamaica IT community invested in training in gaming and programming technology?  What if Jamaica treated the Earth and Nature with respect? What if you were to live another 50 years?

 

 

About the author

Dr. Claire Nelson

CLAIRE ALICIA NELSON, Ph.D.
Dr. Claire Nelson has been actively engaged in the business of international development for more than twenty-five years. She works in the area of project development and management, with a particular focus on private sector development. A renaissance woman, she has been described as a Social Entrepreneur, Futurist, and Change Leader.

The first Jamaican woman to earn a Doctorate degree in an engineering discipline and the only black in her graduating class, Dr. Nelson holds Industrial Engineering Degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo, Purdue University, and a Doctorate in Engineering Management from George Washington University. She has served on numerous boards and committees including: US Department of Commerce US/Caribbean Business Development Council Advisory Board; Black Leadership Forum; DC Caribbean Carnival Association; International Think Tank Commission on Pan-African Affairs, Office of the Prime Minister of Barbados; African-American Unity Caucus; National Democratic Institute/Carter Center Election Observer Mission to the Dominican Republic; Black Professionals in International Affairs; and the International Committee of the National Society of Black Engineers-Alumni Extension.

Dr. Nelson is sought after as a speaker on issues pertaining to economic development, globalization, and issues concerning the Caribbean and its peoples. She is a frequent guest on the television talk show CARIBNATION seen on cable TV in the Washington D.C. area, as well as CARIBBEAN EXCHANGE on WEAA, Morgan University Radio. Her speaking engagements have included: National Association of Security Professionals; Congressional Black Caucus Conference; Harvard University Black MBA Association Conference; Women & Micro-enterprise Conference, African Development Bank; Florida International University; Cincinnati Women's Chamber of Commerce; US Black Engineer of the Year Annual Conference; Howard University; Sacramento State University; National Council of Negro Women; and National Congress of Black Women.

Dr. Nelson has been a frontrunner in the challenge of placing the topic of social exclusion and diversity on the agenda of the multilateral development assistance institutions. As a result of her pioneering work, she was invited to the Salzburg Seminar as a Fellow in 1997 and 1999 of the Seminars on Race and Ethnicity, in 2000 and 2003 to the Fetzer Institute Advisory Group on Moral, Ethical and Spiritual Leadership; and as Faculty at the Seminar on Leadership Across Geographic Borders and Cultural Boundaries. Dr. Nelson was also a participant in the Bellagio Consultation on the UN World Conference on Racism (WCAR) organized by the International Human Rights Law Group, and was active on the Working Group on Globalization and Transnational Corporations.
Dr. Nelson is Ideation Leader of The Futures Forum which provides strategic foresight and development futures consulting practice. An award-winning writer and performance artiste, Dr. Nelson's OpEd pieces have appeared in media outlets such as Morning Edition, National Public Radio; WEAA FM and WHUR FM; and CaribNation TV.