Evenings include a full programme of entertainment and things to do:

• The Main Event 8 pm to 10.30 pm – Live entertainment, glassblowing at Dockyard Glassworks, shopping at the Clocktower Mall (opening hours extended to 9 pm), children’s activities, Gombey dancers, and more
• After Hours– live music at the Snorkel Park (10 pm to 2 am), and salsa dancing at the Bone Fish Bar & Grill (8.45 pm to midnight)

Visitors coming from Hamilton can take the 7 pm ferry. The last ferry from Dockyard to Hamilton is at 11.30 pm.

Destination Dockyard is hosted by the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and the West End Development Corporation (WEDCO).

Director of Tourism Mr. William Griffith said, “Having the St. George’s Foundation manage the visitor information services in St. George’s guarantees that our visitors have a first class information experience.”

To serve the visitor better and have the VIC’s run more efficiently, there will be two Visitor Information Centre locations in St. George’s. The primary location will be The World Heritage Centre, and an additional satellite location at the Deliverance replica on Ordnance Island. Both locations will be open 10:00 am – 4:00 pm daily.

In addition to changes in the VIC operations, there will also be additional activities planned for visitors. After extensive research in North America through a series of Focus Groups, market research indicated that visitors in general are looking for more Historical and Cultural activities to see and do while on a vacation. To satisfy this need of the traveller the Department of Tourism in partnership with the Corporation of St. George’s, the St. George’s Foundation and the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce will be providing additional cultural activities in St. George’s.

Beginning April 1, history will come to life with a series of walking tours that travel the path of the Blockade Runners, explore the quaint streets of the historic town and showcases Bermuda’s artists trail and unique architectural history.

Starting April 12, visitors can see the historical ducking every day except Friday and Sunday. This entertaining, light-hearted re-enactment will be followed by lively Bermudian entertainment that will keep the energy and excitement up in King’s Square. April 27, visitors can explore the hidden treasures of St. George’s while experiencing great local entertainment and an assortment of local products at the St. George’s Market Nights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEIl__ZMCzE

In November 2007, The Business Technology Division of the Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Ministry of the Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce announced the successful bid to host the WITSA Global Public Policy Summit (GPPS) in Bermuda in 2009.

Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce the Hon. Michaels Scott said: “I am excited to see this conference come to fruition here in Bermuda. With delegates and speakers from organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the OECD, the World Bank and others, the importance of the conversations and exchange of information will be beneficial not only to our community but the world.”

Ronnie Viera from the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce said, “The final countdown has started and in a few days, the Business Technology division of the Chamber of Commerce will be welcome 150 people from 10 countries and as far away as Japan. We are truly excited that the time has finally arrived after 2 years of hard work.” Mr Viera went on to say, “In addition, we are pleased to be bringing so many people to the Island in a year when there have been many challenges in the tourism and retail sectors. Obviously an event such as this would not be possible without sponsors and I am very grateful to our sponsors who have been so supportive, in particular, our pinnacle sponsor, Keytech Ltd.”

WITSA is a consortium of more than 70 information and communications technology (ICT) industry associations from economies around the world. WITSA members represent over 90 percent of the world ICT market.

The Business Technology Division (BTD) decided this would be an appropriate initiative to coincide with Bermuda’s 400th anniversary and to showcase Bermuda’s success of using ICT to enhance global business.

In effort to involve young people in the conference, there will be 75-100 (15-18) year old students from Cedarbridge academy, The Berkeley Institute and private schools who will be attending the session on “does environmental policies hamper growth and can enlightened policies and Involvement Bridge the gap?” The students will be undertaking relevant research and having classroom discussions prior to attendance. After the conference the students will be expected to apply what they learned at the summit in follow-up discussions and in some cases future projects related to environmental issues and ICT.

Of particular note is a joint initiative between the Government of Bermuda, WITSA and Field Fisher Waterhouse, who will be hosting a session where the unique concept of Binding Safe Processor Rules (BPSR) will be introduced. The BPSR is a set of internal data protection rules that apply to clients’ data processed by service providers. This session hopes to discuss the concept and work with interested institutions and other international stakeholders to undertake the development of such a model. If the model meets the requirements of the EU data protection authorities, this could provide significant benefit for multi-national corporations and institutions sending data to the EU.

Unique as well, to the Bermuda event, The G-20 ICT Policy Network project team and WITSA will briefly present information on the G20 ICT strategic initiative and one of the lunch time key notes will be presented by the World Bank who will speak about “Trade Facilitation in a Post-Crisis World”.

The Bermuda WITSA GPPS 2009 Organising Committee will also be inviting conference delegates from overseas to actually plant a tree to offset their carbon footprint created by their travel to Bermuda.

The WITSA Global Policy Summit has attracted high profile speakers from some of the most influential organisations in the World relating to Information Technology policies and practices. In addition to the business sessions, there will be several networking opportunities during the various social events which will be held over the 4 day period.

Sheila Lines, CEO of KeyTech said, “The KeyTech group is proud to be the pinnacle sponsor of the WITSA conference. The WITSA conference is a real benefit to Bermuda as it underscores Bermuda’s position as a global player in IT and technology readiness. KeyTech understands the importance of IT to businesses around the globe – we are a technology company focused on providing the best of Bermudian communications technology through our sister companies LOGIC, M3, BTC and Cable Co. WE are looking forward to introducing industry leaders to our staff at this conference and encourage others to do the same.”

There are many local delegates attending the summit sessions, however, for those in the local business community who do not yet have tickets, time is running out. Please visit the summit website at www.gpps2009.bm to register as soon as possible.

The annual summer series of Monday night street festivals at the Royal Naval Dockyard (King’s Wharf/Heritage Wharf) will run until August 10.

Evenings include a full programme of entertainment and things to do:

• Happy Hour 6 pm to 8 pm – ‘Taste of Bermuda’ – free samples of Dockyard Beer at the Frog and Onion Pub and Bermuda Craft Market
• The Main Event 8 pm to 10.30 pm – Live entertainment, glassblowing at Dockyard Glassworks, shopping at the Clocktower Mall (opening hours extended to 9 pm), children’s activities, Gombey dancers, and more
• After Hours– live music at the Frog and Onion (9 pm to midnight), Reggae Beach Party at Snorkel Park (10 pm to 2 am), and salsa dancing at the Bone Fish Bar & Grill (8.45 pm to midnight)

Destination Dockyard is hosted by the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Royal Caribbean International (RCI) and the West End Development Corporation (WEDCO).

It will run from 7 pm until 10 pm and feature live entertainment, Gombey dancers, stalls offering local arts and crafts for sale, children’s activities, food stands, and more.

Ferries depart from Royal Naval Dockyard (Kings Wharf/Heritage Wharf) at 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm, returning at 10 pm and 11 pm.

Harbour Nights run every Wednesday evening until August 26th 2009. They are organised by the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Pickled Onion, Hog Penny, Flanagan’s, Café Cairo, Bermuda Bistro, Norwegian Cruise Line, the Department of Tourism, and the Department of Community & Cultural Affairs.