Al Miller says athletes have set transformation standards »

National Director of the National Transformation Programme (NTP), Rev Al Miller, has suggested that the performance of Jamaica's athletes at last week's World Championships in Berlin, Germany should become a catalyst for a fresh start for the country.

"They being our athletic ambassadors have again awakened and electrified the Jamaican spirit, the true spirit of Jamaica, demonstrating to the world our ability, our capacity to excel and overcome the challenges that we face," he said.

Rev Miller said he is calling for Jamaicans to join with the nation's athletes in showing the world what a true Jamaican looks like.

He told journalists at the media launch of the NTP's Fresh Start Jamaica campaign, at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica's(PSOJ) headquarters in Kingston, Monday (August 24), that the athletes' performances gave "a sense of hope that we all can be first class and world class people, if each of us finds in ourselves that Jamaican gene."

Fresh Start Jamaica was officially launched last month at King's House. It is the result of over 150 consultations, islandwide. It aims to unite Jamaicans around 12 core values, thereby building a national image. The programme is a partnership between the Government, the Church, private sector and civil society.