Ins & Outs of Barbados 2020

INS& 8  AT-A-GLANCE Whether you are a Barbadian who has been living overseas for many years and this is your first visit for some time; or you are a Bajan who lives abroad but frequently returns — welcome home. If you are of Barbadian parentage and this is your first visit — be assured that our home is your home. Welcome! And just as in any regular household, if you are a visitor to these shores, whether it is your first or your 25th visit, it’s our pleasure to have you. We intend to make 2020 a very special year for every Barbadian, regardless of where you reside, and for Barbados, as we embark on a path of renewal and transformation — while drawing on the resources of every person who calls himself or herself a Bajan and, of course, the many friends of Barbados all over the globe. This year, as we execute our Vision 2020 and We Gatherin’ initiatives, I call on every Barbadian to: • Reflect on the values that propelled our development; those we have retained as well as those we have lost; • Consider the boldness, sense of adventure and quest to leave a legacy of respect and achievement that characterised our lives in the first few decades of Independence; • Give thought to the way we once conducted ourselves and our business that led to us being regarded as a nation that punched above its weight; and • Embrace the qualities that so distinguished a Barbadian, whether she settled in Georgetown, London, New York, Toronto, Frankfurt, Panama or Timbuktu. This year we will celebrate our Barbadianness, our culture, our food, our sports, our arts — the things that helped to shape our society; but will embark on a path that will better prepare our people and our nation for the future that lies ahead. We may be small, but we are not voiceless; we may be poor, but we are not powerless; we may not sit in the boardroom of world politics, but we are a people who have educated ourselves, earned by the sweat of our brow and have made a habit of excelling where ever we have settled. Our mission is to build on this legacy to create a Nation where excellence is at the centre of every interaction; where excellence becomes a habit for every Barbadian; and where excellence defines and identifies us. These are among the features we will promote and emphasise in 2020. So welcome, make yourself at home and participate. Enjoy everything the country has to offer, but at the same time commit to giving something back. Plant a tree, donate to a charity, share your expertise. We will welcome it as much as we welcome you. And when you leave, tell the world about Barbados — what it is and what it intends to become! The Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, QC, Prime Minister Cover Artist Stuart Ford Jenkins Stuart was born in England in 1933. He became a full-time art student at what was then called The Southern College of Art in the city of Portsmouth in 1961 and subsequently graduated to further art studies in 1957 at Southampton University. He then worked for the Inner London Education Authority and held two exhibitions of oil paintings in London up to his departure for Barbados in 1975. Stuart was a contract art teacher at The Lodge School and a part time lecturer in graphic art and art history at Barbados Community College. He also became a scenery painter for The Green Room Theatre. He was frequently invited to act as a judge for NIFCA. At this time he was based at Marriott’s Sam Lord’s Castle where he was also called upon to undertake several interior design projects. After a brief excursion into the world of tourism advertising, during which time he worked in no less than twenty islands throughout the Caribbean, he decided to focus exclusively on fine art, particularly portraiture and landscape oil painting. Since the year 2000 he has been closely linked to The Lobster Alive Restaurant where his colleague and long time friend Arthur Taylor is the owner/manager. There is a permanent, changing exhibition of his work on the walls of the restaurant and it has become the artist’s main sales outlet. Not only are the exhibits for sale to the restaurant guests but the artist is also happy to undertake commissions for portraits or whatever the diner fancies. Stuart can be contacted at email: stuartjenkins452@yahoo.com Home: 546-9832 or the restaurant: 453-0305 or by dropping into the restaurant for a quick chat and maybe a demonstration. Welcome from The Prime Minister