(L-R) Jennifer Dilbert and Kate Kandiah at Cayman Connection event
(CNS): Nearly 70 guests comprising students, government officials and members of the private sector recently met for an evening of networking and opportunities at the third annual Cayman Connection UK (CCUK) reception. Held last month at St Ignatius Catholic School, the two-hour event was preceded by a culture workshop. Derived from the Friends of Cayman organisation, CCUK was established to provide support and opportunities for Caymanians living, studying or working in the UK.
Prior to the networking event, approximately 20 students attended a special UK culture workshop headed by founder Jennifer Dilbert and Friends of Cayman member Kate Kandiah, along with some student ambassadors. This session touched on topics such as the importance of networking; the Cayman Islands and UK governments and political structures; the role of CCUK, the London Office and the Department of Tourism; and lastly, the portrayal of the Cayman Islands’ financial services industry to the UK layperson and accompanying misconceptions.
The reception commenced with a short welcome by Kandiah, who organised the event. She briefed the audience on the organisation and its growing numbers of almost 300 members. She also apologised for the absence of Eric Bush, the new London Office representative, and shared his message.
Premier Alden McLaughlin then assured the students that friends, family members and the entire Cayman Islands are cheering them on.
Education Minister Tara Rivers encouraged the group, saying, “We need to find each other, support each other and help each other succeed – that’s very much what CCUK is about.”
Alex Last spoke on behalf of law firm Mourant Ozannes, offering the possibility of a career to students, and expressing delight in giving back to the community by investing in students and sponsoring CCUK.
The student ambassadors also addressed those attending,. Emily Sully and David Ramsaran shared some of their personal experiences and the importance of CCUK, and Kenroy Millwood closed the event, thanking the sponsors and guests for attending and making the evening possible.
Kandiah spoke of the opportunity the annual event offers to students to connect with others who are studying in the UK, and to share, advise and support each other. “We also are encouraging more private sector friends to get involved, so that they too, through CCUK, can support our students abroad,” she said.
For updates and opportunities, students can register at the CCUK website. For more information, email Cayman Connection
Hater say something good, or keep your trap shut! Jennifer is a good person and have always been one person to hire, promote and lift up Caymanians and the island on a whole. She did it at CIMA, Deutsch Bank and elsewhere. Thanks Ms. Dilbert and I don’t know much about Kadie but she keep good company and you know what they say about company so I can only assume the same about Kadie, she is good people. Congrats to all.
There is no doubt CCUK will be useful for Caymanian students studying in the UK, but it would have been more appropriate to picture and promote the students themselves rather than the organizers. After all that is the CCUK purpose – a group photo of the 20 students would have gone a long way to building their network. Otherwise it just appears self serving and attention seeking on the part of the organizers or maybe that was the intent ? a picture does really say a 1,000 words and in this instance not too complimentary ….