News

Following Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, which devastated large parts of Jamaica on October 28, 2025, there remains a great need for blood donations.…

Jamaica is suffering doubly from the hurricane:

a) through direct damage and

b) through the decline in tourism, which is costing many jobs.

List of general relief items for the general public.

Binder speaks to "the Schwäbische newspaper" about the devastating storm and names a trustworthy organization (Lasco Chin Foundation) through which…

The Jamaican Embassy in Berlin is forwarding a request from the Jamaican government to register for rapid support of Jamaica via the 'Support Jamaica…

The death toll from Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica has risen. Some areas remain cut off from the outside world. Approximately 80 Germans were evacuated…

Cut-off towns, residents without supplies, enormous destruction: Jamaica, Cuba, and other affected Caribbean nations are grappling with the aftermath…

The German-Jamaican Society is collecting donations after Hurricane Melissa

Hurricane Melissa, a historic hurricane, made landfall in Jamaica. The extent of the damage is still unclear. The government has declared the island a…

The Conference will bring together members of the Jamaican community across Europe

Hurricane Melissa at Beecher Town School (a school supported by German Jamaican Society since years).

The GJS is helping affected areas in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa

Hurricane Melissa has devastated large parts of Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. We, as the German-Jamaican Society, want to use donated funds to help alleviate the worst suffering in the affected areas of Jamaica. A member of our board, Karl-Olaf Kaiser, is on the ground coordinating the relief efforts.

Klick here to read the call for donations and here to find further information about the hurricane.

Annual meeting of the German-Jamaican Society 2025

The working title of the conference was “Redemption – Jamaica and its Blue Mountains.” At its 2025 annual conference at the AZK in Königswinter, the GJS examined a country caught between environmental protection and current development policy debates. Further information can be found here.

The conference program can be downloaded here.

Jamaican Art in Museum im Kloster in Bersenbrück

From June 28th to August 24th, 2025, the exhibition presented art by Jamaican artists such as David Pottinger, Richard Gayle, Ras Dizzy, Laura Facey, Joshua Solas, Barbara Walker, Cecil Baugh, Neville Garrick, Michael “Freestylee” Thompson, Limonius, Sean Henry, Gavin Jordan, Karin Rahts, Acquille Dunkley, Phyll Williams, Taj Francis, Judy Ann MacMillan and many more (further information).

Helmut Philipps is a member of the GJS since years. Here he presents to Ms. Deniese Sealey, Charge d'Affair of the Jamaican Embassy, his book "DUB - The Sound of Surprise" at the GJS-Conference 2024 (Photo: Karl-Olaf Kaiser).

"DUB Conference - 50 Years of DUB from Jamaica" & "DUB - The Sound of Surprise"

In 2022 and 2023, the reggae magazine Riddim's reader poll crowned GJS-member Helmut Philipps and his book "DUB Conference - 50 Years of DUB from Jamaica" the best book of the year. The winner of the year 2024 has now been chosen; it is Helmut Philipps again. The german version of the book has been voted first, the english version "DUB - The Sound of Surprise," published in 2024, took second place in the poll (see description of both book versions).