WESTERN BUREAU – Generation 2000 president Dr Christopher Tufton said that although the group missed its June deadline to launch chapters in the United States, it was making significant strides in New York.

“I was in New York two weeks ago and we had a meeting with the steering committee – a group of Jamaicans who are Labourites and interested in Jamaica – who are actively having meetings now,” Tufton told the Observer.

“It’s not officially launched as a chapter yet, but there is a group that is meeting and putting in place the necessary stuff to ensure they have the appropriate quorum, and so on to officially launching a chapter. It is going very well in New York. I am very encouraged,” he said.

The group, which forms the young professional arm of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), revealed its intentions to launch overseas chapters in February as part of efforts to increase its membership, which Tufton estimated at a little less than 3,000.

But more than increasing its numbers, the Generation 2000 president said the group wanted to achieve institutional strengthening by seeking to engage the 2.5 million Jamaicans living overseas and those on the island.

“We are trying to make a qualitative thrust towards having forums for people to engage and discuss, and sign on to what they are doing rather than signing up people and not being able to service them. As it is now, we have a lot of our members who feel inadequate because they don’t feel we are servicing them as effectively. So we have to focus on the issues,” he said.

Added Tufton: “The chapters really are a forum for like-minded persons to engage in discussions around common interest and issues…. We are building on the national base that we have, and then using the chapters as the forum to bring people together to discuss issues, to take on challenges, whether they are civil challenges or promoting the spirit of volunteerism…”

Against this background, Tufton said the group was looking to recruit members not only from New York, but also from Florida, Canada and the United Kingdom. Already, Tufton said, tentative steps have been taken in Florida.

“In Florida we have some activity taking place, so they will be next in line. And then we will be working on Canada and England,” he said.

“We had said that we were going to try and set up two under this administration. I am pretty sure that New York will happen relatively soon but we have to put a little more effort in the other areas,” he added.

Generation 2000, also known as G2K, was established approximately four years ago under the presidency of now former JLP senator, David Panton. Since then, the group has spoken on a number of issues such as educational reform, and has formed what is known as the ACTION team that has as its mandate the analysis and communication of policy for the public. The group has also been credited, at least in part, for the JLP’s success in the 2002 general elections that saw them snagging 27 Parliamentary seats.