Tobagonians get their say on culture, arts national policy

A second consultation on the Draft National Policy on Culture and the Arts will be held on August 23, from 9.30 am at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex, focussing on heritage, memory and legacy and cultural industries.

At initial consultation at the Complex on July 24, Tobago stakeholders had complained about the short notice and little information provided to allow for proper contributions and had called for a second session.

Winston Gordon, Manager of the New Dimension Performing Arts Company and RBC Redemption Sound Setters said he was unsure what the consultation was about. In his contribution, he also said the document should represent the whole of Trinidad and Tobago and management structure must be carefully looked at since those persons would be given the responsibility to drive qualitative methods and the preservation of the culture.

““We must not change the culture but learn how to present it in a more effective interesting way. Everything must be documented, we must have a clear objective and the plan must include everyone who should also be involved in the evaluation that should be had from time to time,” Gordon said.

Sophia Cooper said she was not confident that the consultation gave Tobago a fair play in terms of its contribution.

“I think we are going down a road we have been down before where a representative from Tobago on a committee does not mean proper implementation in Tobago and while I can see the ministry’s effort, the fact that Tobago’s participation was not considered in black and white, means that we are not ready,” Cooper said.

She stressed on the need to give Tobago a stable position in the final national policy. She also recommended that the policy be clearly explained to Tobagonians - what would be their role in fostering an improved culture and the arts industry.

“… I did not see the Tobago House of Assembly and since the Act gives the THA responsibility for culture, does that mean the ministry will be doing an MOU with the THA or is it the entire process will reside in the island of Trinidad?” she asked.

In announcing the second consultation, a release from the Ministry Community Development, Culture and the Arts, which is hosting the talks, said despite the challenges of a late start in Tobago, it was “particularly heartened by the excellent turnout of stakeholders and the quality of contributions.”

Reporting on feedback from the consultations, the ministry noted stakeholders’ identification of a more visible role for Tobago, along with a need for the policy’s context to be more detailed, that a greater linkage between culture and education be made, and that local content quotas be linked to strengthening cultural confidence.

The draft policy has been developed against the backdrop of an absence of a culture policy in Trinidad and Tobago since 1981, and was approved by Cabinet in May 2018, as a working document for consultations. The policy is a framework that envisions culture at the centre of national development.

“It acknowledges the need to strengthen our cultural confidence, sense of national identity and create an enabling environment for the growth and development of the sector, including artists and cultural entrepreneurs,” the ministry said, adding:

“This framework approach proposes an overall direction for the sector and further allows for collaboration in expanding specific pathways for the three pillars of culture and the arts broadly classified as the visual and performing arts (VAPA); heritage, memory and legacy and cultural industries.”

The ministry has advised that the draft policy is available at http://www.cdca.gov.tt/policies-publications/culture-policy/