A Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) committee will determine this April if their efforts to generate better understanding of the importance of international business have worked.

And BIBA's local marketing committee will go directly to secondary schools -- starting with the Berkeley Institute this month -- with a short video explaining various roles Bermudians play in the success of international business, and how all Bermudians benefit.

BIBA marketing committee member, Graham Jack, the general manager of Bermuda International Securities at the Bank of Bermuda, told the Rotary Club yesterday over lunch at Pier Six the proactive stance comes after "disturbing'' findings from BIBA's 1994 research.

Mr. Jack said, "The key results were well-publicised at the time. Many Bermudians in the industry don't recognise themselves as an important part of international business; most black Bermudian men in the industry don't feel they have an equal shot at upper management; and perhaps most surprising of all, less than ten percent of those Bermudians polled in the survey felt committed to the success of the international business industry.'' Mr. Jack said, "The phenomenal growth of international business in Bermuda, and the sea of change our economy has undergone because of that growth, has far outstripped the community's understanding of how we are affected by it.'' Acknowledging that changing people's perceptions takes time, the BIBA committee is committed to showing why international business is worth supporting.

BIBA executive secretary, Ginny Masters, said an essay competition for secondary school students will focus on the theme "International Business...it's about all of us.'' BIBA is also planning a summer exposition at City Hall.

Graham Jack