Glory and prizes, holidays and air tickets await Caribbean journalists in Jamaica this Autumn at the Third Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism which will be held October 17-21, at the Half Moon Golf, Tennis and Beach Club, Montego Bay, Jamaica.

CMEx III invites editors, producers, writers and all other journalists to submit their own, or colleagues` work for the CMEx III Awards recognizing their skills and talents in covering all aspects of sustainable tourism in the region. Contestants need not be at the conference itself.

Any work, dealing with the business or economic aspects of sustainable tourism, whether print, radio, television or even on-line, published up to October this year is eligible, and any coverage of the CMEx II conference in Nassau that has been forwarded to conference organizers will be entered automatically. As always, the judges appreciate keen, fearless and investigative work - but we`ll settle for interesting as well.

The journalists actually attending the Conference have an additional chance for glory and rewards at the celebrated No-Talent Show at the closing ceremony. Bring any props or instrument you want, or just your raw sustainable talent. Show that the media can contribute to unsustainable mirth and provoke unrivalled appreciation! Bring your talent to Jamaica - but send your media entries to:

More than 30 journalists have already been awarded fellowships for the conference. They hail from Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, USVI, United States and United Kingdom.

CMEx, produced by Counterpart International, its affiliate Counterpart Caribbean, Air Jamaica, Caribbean Hotel Association, Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism, CHA Charitable Trust (“Life Needs the Caribbean”), and Caribbean Broadcasting Union, is being supported by American Express, Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Barbados Tourism Authority, Caribbean Tourism Organisation, Half Moon Golf, Tennis and Beach Club, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Sandals Resorts International and Caribbean Star.

Recognised for excellence in covering the business aspects of tourism were Chelston Lovell, managing editor of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation in Barbados; Guyanese Edwin Ali, travel editor of the Miami-headquartered Caribbean Today newspaper; Yaniris Felipe, business writer with Listin Diario in the Dominican Republic; and Johnson Johnrose from Dominica, a freelance reporter and communications officer with the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

The first prize went to Television Jamaica (TVJ) reporter Carol Francis for her newscast detailing the damage to the coral reef off Negril by non-sustainable tourist industry developments.The other finalists were Vincentian Jennifer Richardson, now with SVG TV, for her feature produced for the Barbados-based Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, Jose Javier Perez of Puerto Rico`s “El Nuevo Dia” and Amarillis Orta of Cubavision TV.

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