A campaign designed to further strengthen the British Virgin Islands’ internationally recognised financial services sector and increase the awareness and engagement of its population in the process, will be launched here next week.

The campaign is part of efforts to build upon the successes of the financial services industry and encourage greater involvement by key stakeholders in ensuring its sustainable future.

The launch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 17, at the Eileen L. Parsons Auditorium at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College and will feature remarks from Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE.

The keynote address will be delivered by Bermuda’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Honourable Everard T. Richards, who is an economist by profession, with extensive experience in international investments.

The launch will include the unveiling of the title, slogan and logo of the campaign. There will also be an introduction to the website that will be used as a tool to facilitate the desired engagement with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure their full participation, both locally and internationally.

The official ceremony is part of several activities scheduled for next week to launch the campaign which will be the communication vehicle for the initiatives identified as part of the strategic plan to take the industry forward.

The media is recognised as an important partner in the process of engagement and as such, a concerted effort is being made to facilitate greater flow of information. A Media Breakfast is therefore planned for Tuesday, September 15, to which all members of the media have been invited.

Additionally, a number of Financial Services Champions have been identified to effectively engage the wider population. These persons will serve as spokespersons to promote awareness of the industry and the benefits to be derived by the average person. The champions will work in partnership with members of Team BVI, who are industry personnel under the umbrella of BVI Finance and who will engage the population in a similar role as industry ambassadors.

The Financial Services Champions and members of Team BVI will be inaugurated at a pinning ceremony and cocktail reception on Wednesday, September 16, prior to their introduction to the general public at the official launch ceremony.

Through the various activities and execution of the communication campaign, it is anticipated that persons in the British Virgin Islands will develop a clearer understanding of the financial services industry, its importance to the BVI economy and how it impacts various facets of their daily lives.

Action plans for the individual initiatives are being prepared in committees by Initiative Sponsors, all of whom are either long-serving industry personnel or senior Government officers. The overall implementation of the ten initiatives is being driven by the Financial Services Implementation Unit (FSIU) which has been set up specifically to drive progress on the initiatives.