Video: Voluntary Visitors Exchange Programme

Good afternoon and thank you for joining me.

I want to give a particular special welcome to the US Consul General, Grace Shelton.

Ladies and gentlemen we are here to highlight a very important and successful joint initiative called the Voluntary Visitors Exchange Programme or VolVis for short.

Simply put, this is a US State Department programme that brings current or potential leaders from other countries to the US for a 5-10 day period to learn about programmes in their field and to network with their American counterparts.

The Consulate selects the voluntary visitors and the State Department organizes and fully funds the domestic expenses of VolVis groups – food, lodging and domestic travel – while the host government funds travel to/from the US.

To date, the US Consulate has sponsored six groups from Bermuda. The first was in 2005. Exchanges focused on healthy families and healthy children, early childhood education, alternative education, and gangs.

I should note however that not all exchanges are comprised of government employees. In the past, the U.S. Consulate has sent persons from the Family Center, de Boys Day Out Club, and Youth on the Move.

Our involvement came when the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation was invited to send a delegation to the US to learn about Entrepreneurship. The BEDC felt it was important for the contingent to be made up of its partners and stakeholders from not just government, but also the private and non-profit sectors.

As such the six member delegation included:

• Mrs. Erica Smith – Director, EEZ
• Ms. Lucrecia Ming – Assistant General Manager, BEDC
• Mrs. Laquita Hill – Owner/operator, Kita’s Beauty Salon and Barbershop
• Mr. Hasan Durham – Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance
• Mrs. Nicole Warren – General Manager, Phoenix Stores
• Mr. Gavin Smith – Founder and Executive Director, The Chewstick Foundation

Their 10-day visit allowed them to experience a broad range of new economic opportunities that might be of value to exploring in Bermuda, including art, music, green technologies, and healthcare. The contingent visited areas in Washington, DC, Atlanta and Savannah Ga., and Charleston, SC. where they were was exposed to innovative retail and small business entrepreneurship programmes that could be adaptable to a small Island community.

During their four city visit, they met with representatives from Federal Government Departments, Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development Agencies, small business agencies, local development corporations, regional development organisations, creative industries, non-profit organisations, business incubators, and lending agencies to name a few.

At the conclusion of the visit the delegates felt that exposure to the programme would strengthen their work in their specific areas of responsibility and especially in promoting and facilitating entrepreneurship, job creation, and economic growth.

They felt that the wealth of information collected and the contacts made would be highly useful in assisting Bermuda’s policies aimed at strengthening our economy.

Finally ladies and gentlemen, I have always maintained that strengthening our economy and assisting our small businesses during these tough times is a key priority for this Government, and it will take a unified effort to press our economic agenda. The US Entrepreneurship Project facilitated through the VolVis programme is an excellent example of this unified effort.

Now I’d like to turn it over to Consul General Grace Shelton so that she can share a few words about this wonderful partnership.

Thank you.

Good afternoon,

First and foremost, U.S. Consulate General Shelton, Minister Minors, and Ms. Khaldun, members of the media, on behalf of my Bermuda Voluntary Visitor Team, we’d like to express our gratitude for the opportunity afforded each one of us to participate in this exchange programme.

While we were expecting a high quality experience with the program, what we received surpassed our expectations! 4 exciting cities, 6 team members, 10 whirlwind days, and 25 informative meetings – the trip was quite memorable.

As mentioned, the team was made up of representatives from a Quango, the private sector, a commerce organisation, the retail industry, the small business sector, the government, and the non-profit sector. This diversity allowed for there to be much healthy discussion, or debate depending on your viewpoint, around what we learned and how it applied to Bermuda.

Each member of the team added to the dynamic of the meetings. While we were able to gain invaluable information and knowledge from those that hosted us, we were also able to share our own knowledge and experiences which benefitted our hosts.

The broad goal of the trip was to experience U.S. Entrepreneurship. The specific objective of the progamme was to provide our team with a broad overview of entrepreneurial programs adaptable to a small island community, with emphasis on retail and small business, as well as, emphasis on economic development as it relates to art, music, retail, small business, green business, and healthcare.

Our delegation wanted to be exposed to innovative retail and small business entrepreneurship programs that could be adaptable to Bermuda, and we also wanted to experience the differences and similarities between urban and less urban areas, inner cities and coastal areas. As such, we were able to see entrepreneurship examples in Washington, DC; Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; and Atlanta, GA.

While all the meetings provided value, the following are highlights that could find some traction in Bermuda’s entrepreneurship environment.

In Washington, DC we will able to visit with the Cultural Development Corporation and more specifically their Flashpoint complex. The Cultural Development Corporation is a non-profit organization in which they create space and build the capacity of artists to prosper within that space. This includes creating affordable spaces for artists to both live and work.

The Flashpoint Complex and the Creative Communities Initiative has built the creative infrastructure that fuels the arts and economy in Washington, DC. As a result of their presence in a transitional neighbourhood they have been able to regenerate the area economically. Restaurants, retail, and art related businesses are all within that neighbourhood now – a far cry from 10 years ago.

Throughout the trip, the theme emerging in each city was that the Creative Industry [made up of artists, designers, software designers, IT professionals, musicians, performers, etc.] is an often overlooked sector that contributes significantly to an economy.

For instance, they discovered that the creative industries have a huge impact on the economy in Charleston accounting for over 27,000 jobs and $1.4 billion in wages. Similar discoveries were made in each of the cities. Is this an area Bermuda should look at to diversify our economy?

In Charleston, after the impact of the closure of the US Navy Base and Shipyard and the devastation of Hurricane Hugo, both in the 1990s, the City has rallied over the last 15 years and been strategic in regenerating itself. Business loans were created specifically to retrain people for new industries they desired to attract; and to assist property owners in rebuilding their properties.

Charleston highlighted how the public and private sectors are working together to continue economic growth. For instance, the Charleston Regional Development Alliance is a professional economic development organisation organized as a public/private, not-for-profit corporation supported and led by the region’s most influential business leaders, three county governments, largest municipalities, and top academic institutions.

In addition to these important economic development partners, they collaborate closely with other entities throughout the Charleston area to ensure a globally competitive, sustainable regional economy. We see how our Government in Bermuda is utilising partnerships in order to address our economic challenges and the examples we saw overseas can be tapped into as excellent models.

In Savannah, the Department of Economic Development works with its partners such as the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority, the Small Business Assistance Corporation, The Creative Coast, and the Savannah Economic Development Authority to grow and sustain businesses and re-grow the economy. They use a process of designating Enterprise Zones , which is similar to our Economic Empowerment Zones, to focus policies, incentives, and investment on regenerating transitional areas.

Savannah has a huge inventory of buildings of architectural and historic significance. They leverage the nostalgia, beauty, and historic of these buildings and neighbourhoods as a complementary benefit to spurring the economy. Visitors come to Savannah (and Charleston) because of these historic assets. Is there a similar opportunity in Bermuda?

Atlanta did not disappoint our group in having innovative programmes to spur business retention and growth and economic development. The Georgia Chamber has an innovative Angel Tax Credit programme where companies get a tax break if they donate to (not invest in) a business.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development has a programme providing funding for businesses who hire certified Work Ready individuals to assist with hiring and training costs. In addition, for communities wanting to create and sustain entrepreneurial activity locally, the “Entrepreneur Friendly” Initiative helps them incorporate small businesses into their long-term development strategies.

In closing, I could go on and on about the numerous organisations we visited and the programmes we learned about. At the conclusion of the ten-day trip our team felt that exposure to the Voluntary Visitor program would strengthen our specific work in the areas of promoting and facilitating entrepreneurship and business formation.

We felt that the vast information collected and the contacts made would be highly useful in assisting Bermuda to continue to develop policies to create an “Entrepreneur Friendly” environment and broaden the economy.

We also felt that while these examples and models can inform our actions and decisions, Bermuda would still need to develop policies that are specific to our unique environment.

Thank you, once again, for the experience.

The State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Exchange Another Example of Collaboration with Bermudians

For the seventh time, the U.S. Consulate General was able to send a Voluntary Visitor (VolVis) exchange team of Bermudians to the U.S. as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). This year’s visit focused on entrepreneurship, which Premier Cox had identified as one of her priorities.

During ten days in February and March, the six-member IVLP team looked at 25 model entrepreneurship programs in Washington, Charleston, Savannah, and Atlanta to see what they might want to bring back and adapt for Bermuda. Members of the VolVis team were:

1. Erica Smith (Team leader and Director, Economic Empowerment Zones Agency)

2. Hasan Durham (Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance)

3. Laquita Hill (Board member, Bermuda Economic Development Corporation [BEDC])

4. Lucrecia Ming (Assistant General Manager, BEDC)

5. Gavin Smith (Executive Director, Chewstick Foundation)

6. Nicole Warren (General Manager, Phoenix Stores)

Some of the stand-out programs visited by the VolVis team were the:

1. Washington Cultural Development Corporation

2. Charleston Local Development Corporation

3. Charleston Regional Development Alliance

4. Savannah Economic Development Authority

5. Georgia Green Loans

The team looked at mixed use facilities, a waterfront center, the role of the arts in economic development, festival planning, green financing, and incubators, to name a few of the programs visited. Tying loans for small business development to job creation was one important concept learned.

This exchange exemplifies the strong collaboration between our two countries. Bermuda decided on the program focus and the State Department organized and funded the exchange, which gave the team a chance to look at a broad range of programs having relevance to Bermuda.

The trip provided an excellent networking opportunity for team members. However, the exchange experience is not only about Bermudians learning about American programs, it is also a mutual exchange of ideas between Americans and Bermudians. It provides a superlative networking opportunity for both sides.

Consul General Grace Shelton said, “The Consulate looks forward to continuing the Voluntary Visitor Program in 2013 and the years to come. It has become an integral part of the mission’s ongoing effort to strengthen ties between our two countries.”

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