Cultural policy before Cabinet

A cultural policy is currently before cabinet, Dr Donna-Mae Knights, policy co-ordinator for the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, said on Thursday.

Knights made the revelation at the armchair discussion on culture, arts and economic development on the closing day of the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) department of economics conference on the economy. The conference ran from October 9-10 at the UWI Univeristy Inn and Conference Centre, Circular Road, St Augustine.

Knights told the panellists and those at the conference that work began on the cultural policy in September 2016.

“I am very happy to say that two years of work on the policy was done very intimately with academia...as well as practitioners...After several drafts we spent the year in consultations in 2018.

She added there were two fundamental pillars of the policy: the issue of national identity and the harmonisation of the sector. The policy also addressed the issue of cultural confidence and the arts, heritage, legacy and memory and the cultural industries, she said.

Dr Althea La Foucade chaired the session and discussion was generated by music sociologist Meagan Sylvester, theatre director and lecturer Rawle Gibbons, and entrepreneur Ken Sambury.

The panellists addressed issues such as identity, indigenous intelligence and connectivity.

The draft policy is available online at culture.gov.tt.