The conversation that started in Montego Bay this summer continues in Philadelphia next week. The Northeast USA Diaspora Conference runs on October 23 and 24, 2026, bringing Jamaicans from across the northeastern United States together to turn conference talk into partnerships.

Who is leading the talks

South Florida Caribbean News reports that Alando Terrelonge, Jamaica’s Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade with responsibility for diaspora affairs, will lead talks at Temple University in Philadelphia.

The agenda reported for the conference covers four areas that keep coming up wherever Jamaicans abroad gather: investment, artificial intelligence, youth leadership, and Jamaica’s hurricane recovery after Hurricane Melissa.

Building on Montego Bay

The Philadelphia meeting follows the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference, held in Montego Bay from June 14 to 18, 2026, under the theme of rebuilding a more resilient Jamaica. Sessions there covered trade and investment, education, public safety, agriculture, volunteerism and national development.

In a message to northeast diasporans after that conference, Global Jamaica Diaspora Council representative Michelle Tulloch-Neil, who served as a panelist in Montego Bay, said she looks forward to continuing the conversations in Philadelphia and building on the momentum generated in Jamaica.

Why the Northeast matters

The northeastern United States is home to one of the largest concentrations of Jamaicans outside the island, across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and the wider region. That community sends remittances, builds businesses, runs health missions and fills the stands whenever Jamaica plays or performs in the United States.

A regional conference on home ground gives that community a direct seat at the table, with government at the table too, on the questions that decide whether diaspora energy becomes investment, mentorship and real projects back home.

Jamaicans in the Northeast who want a voice in that work should mark October 23 and 24, and watch for registration details from the conference organisers and the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council.

Source: South Florida Caribbean News, October 16, 2026, via EIN Presswire, Global Jamaica Diaspora Council Northeast USA newsletter