2011-06-25 19:28:12

The Advisory Councils of Sint Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao met on Friday to discuss cooperation in the form of sharing resources, exchanging knowledge and experience, and supporting each other.
Participating in the meeting were Sint Maarten Advisory Council Vice Chairwoman Mavis Brooks-Salmon and Secretary Director Niovis Winklaar, Curaçao’s Advisory Council Secretary Director Cadlyn Raphaela and Deputy Secretary Director Ellis Davelaar, and Secretary Director Helen van der Wal and Deputy Secretary Director Albert Braamskamp of the Aruba Advisory Council that has been in existence since that country became a country within the Dutch Kingdom.

A cooperation meeting with the Advisory Council for Economic, Social and Cultural Affairs of Sint Martin (French side) is slated for July 8 at 11:00am. That council is a member of the federation of French advisory councils that represents all the councils in France and its overseas territories. It also falls under the Region of Guadeloupe.

The federation will host its annual conference and general meeting of all presidents and members of the French Advisory Councils in Sint Martin. The Sint Maarten Advisory Council will meet with a delegation of eight representatives of the French Advisory Council who will highlight their desire to collaborate and recommend potential solutions to common issues and cooperation.

The Sint Maarten Advisory Council is headed by Governor Eugene Holiday, while daily operations fall to Vice Chairwoman Mavis Brooks-Salmon. Four new members were sworn in recently to fill vacancies on the council.

Now serving on the board are former Member of the Parliament of the former Netherlands Antilles and consultant Marcel Gumbs and retired civil servant/ Corporate Governance Council Chairman Louis Duzanson, who took the oath as permanent members of the council, while attorney Richard Gibson Sr. and educator Marcella Hazel were sworn in as substitute members.

The four new members join attorney Gaston Bell, Project Director for Sint Maarten/former Lt. Governor Dennis Richardson and Windward Islands Bank Managing Director Jan Beaujon, who were sworn in on October 10, 2010, the day Sint Maarten became a country within the Dutch Kingdom. Curaçao-based Notary Miguel “Mike” Alexander is an extraordinary council member.