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Women’S Desk Hosts Succesful Event On “The Impact Of Media On Violence Against Women And Girls”

COLE BAY, St. Maarten - Women's desk in the observation of the sixteen days of activism for the elimination of violence against women held an Awareness Ensemble at the Rock House Port de Plaisance under the theme "the impact and influence of music and media on violence against women & girls.

The theme was demonstrated through the art form with moving and heart-stirring performances from the Charlotte Brookson Academy, Funtopia and the National Institute of Arts.

Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Emil Lee, addressed a packed room focusing on “the impact and influence of Music and Media on Violence against Women and Girls” Read more

Health Minister Getting Up To Speed On Hospital Development Plans

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - It is still early to come with ultimate plans for the St. Maarten Medical Center, stated Minister with the responsibility for Health, Social Affairs and Labor, the Honorable Emil Lee.

The Minister was at the time, responding to a question put to him during the weekly press conference on Wednesday regarding the subject Read more

Emil Lee Accepts Minster Position In St. Maarten, Steps Down As Chta President As Of Nov. 18, President-Elect Karolin Troubetzkoy Begins Journey As Leader For The Association

MIAMI, FL - Emil Lee, Immediate Past President of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), has "passed the torch" to First Vice President and President-Elect Karolin Troubetzkoy eight months earlier than initially scheduled, as Lee has accepted the opportunity to serve as Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs for the country of St Read more

Quotable Caribbean

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - "The path of violence and hatred does not solve the problems of humanity, and using the name of God to justify this path is blasphemy." - Pope Francis (New York Times)

 "Terrorism is a scourge upon our common humanity. The people of all countries have a right to live in freedom within the laws that govern our international system. In our 21st Century world, which has become inextricably interlinked, terrorism in all its forms, particularly directed at innocent civilians, must be halted by global action Read more

Emil Lee, New Minister Of Labor, Health And Social Affairs, Wastes No Time

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - In a bid to attract the best and brightest candidates in St. Maarten to the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs, the newly appointed minister Emil Lee has taken the unconventional step of opening a public recruitment process and advertising for the different positions at his cabinet in the ministry.  Breaking the unwritten but time-honored rule of incoming ministers picking a cabinet mostly from their pool of political supporters, Lee has reasserted his commitment to making the country of St Read more

Governor Receives Final Report William Marlin

Harbour View, Sint Maarten – On November 18th, 2015, His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, received the final report of formateur W. Marlin.

The formateur has accepted the commission to form a new government supported by a majority in Parliament comprised of the NA-fraction, the DP-fraction, the USP-fraction, independent Member of Parliament S Read more

Dp Announcement - Emil Lee To Be Next Minister Of Vsa

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Democratic Party would like to announce the swearing in of DP candidate Emil Lee as the next Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA).  

Emil will be sworn in tomorrow Thursday, November 19th, 2015 Read more

Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2016 Expands Outreach To Latin America, Emerging Destinations & Niche Markets, Appointment Requests Now Open; Educational Sessions Added

THE CARIBBEAN - The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is raising the global profile of Caribbean Travel Marketplace providing opportunities for hoteliers attending the event to find new contacts and sources of business. CHTA is targeting wholesalers in Latin America and emerging destinations as well as tour operators specializing in niche markets. Caribbean Travel Marketplace is scheduled Jan. 21-23, 2016 at the Atlantis, Paradise Island in The Bahamas.

Building upon the existing and longstanding portfolio of global operators conducting business in the Caribbean, CHTA is focusing on securing the participation of Latin American tour operators in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Venezuela and emerging destinations Russia, India, Scandinavia, Ukraine and the Middle East.

            With the growth and importance of the niche travel segments to its membership, CHTA is inviting niche tour operators to attend Caribbean Travel Marketplace Read more

Emil Lee Attends Open Government Partnership Summit On Behalf Of Dp

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The DP was represented at the recent OGP Summit by Emil Lee.   Unfortunately, due to the current political crisis, DP Party Leader and Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams had to cancel her planned attendance. According to MP Sarah Wescot Williams, “The DP supports having St Maarten apply for membership to the OGP.  In order for St Maarten to become a member, there are a number of requirement with which St Maarten would need to comply.  Although St Maarten doesn’t currently qualify for membership, this provides the country with an excellent road map to follow in our path towards becoming more open.  There is an undeniable connection between the degree of openness and the level of prosperity of any country.  The more open and transparent the government, the more the people participate in and benefit from the economy.  We felt that this conference was such a valuable learning experience that Emil and I funded the trip at our personal expense.”According to Emil Lee, “the amazing thing for St Maarten is that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel.  Many countries have similar problems to St Maarten.  Many have issues with how to make the budgeting process more transparent and inclusive.  How to make procurement and government contracts less susceptible to corruption?  By participating in OGP, St Maarten can benefit from all of the experiences and work of other countries.”Use of Confidentiality Clauses: A great exampleAccording to Lee, “In St Maarten, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the use of confidentiality clauses in contracts with government and government owned companies.  There are countries where the contracts are not even legally binding until they have been placed on line for anyone to review.  Additionally, there are clear guidelines for what items are able to be covered by confidentiality clauses.  Pricing and financial information typically does not quality as items that would be able to be shrouded by confidentiality clauses.  This clause is usually reserved for proprietary processes and trade secrets.”OGP SummitThe OGP or Open Government Partnership hosts the OGP Global Summit every two years in the Country of the current Chair, this year in Mexico City.  Representatives from government, academic institutions, civil society and multilateral organizations come together to exchange experiences and share best practices and major developments in open government.OGP Mission:“OGP’s vision is that more governments become sustainably more transparent, more accountable, and more responsive to their own citizens, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of governance, as well as the quality of services that citizens receive Read more