Education Minister calls for support of Gospel Music Festival

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly is calling on citizens to support the TT Gospel Festival 2023, which takes place from Friday to Sunday with a series of events. She said people should support the positive efforts of young people.

Speaking at the launch of the event at the Government Campus Plaza, Port of Spain on Thursday, Gadsby-Dolly commended the organising body, Celian Group, which is composed of young people.

“I am pleased to be part of what was a dream of some young people that has now become the dream of a country, to see what was conceptualised as an event turn into a festival all led by our young people. In our country, we have a youth issue. It’s not all youth, nor is it most, but we have quite a number of young people who are not contributing positively to our country, and I think we see them, and social media magnifies them, and so when we have young people who are doing the work, and it’s not easy, to contribute positively to the country, it deserves all our support.

“I guarantee when you look at that crowd this weekend you’ll see a lot of young people creating an opportunity for young people to engage positively, and that is what it’s about, an NGO working hard with the support of the government to create these opportunities, it can’t be better than that. I want to challenge all our citizens to participate in this weekend. Let our young people see you supporting them, let our young people see you joining with them in positive things and that is a statement that will be much louder than anything else we can do to support our young people in positive activities.”

Celian Group managing director Ian Haywood said the NGO does activities which are geared towards creating change, improving lives, and being better for people.

“We have grown from one-day events to a festival weekend. Without the nation buying into the concept of what we wanted to promote, we would not be here today. It is heart-warming to have people from North America, St Vincent, Guyana, with us today and it sets the tone for the weekend ahead. We intend to have it rival the entire Caribbean, and even other festival weekends in TT, because we believe excellence is the standard, and we want to be the best at it, so people can know that TT has something that is not sub-standard.”

Tourism, Culture, and the Arts Ministry's senior legal officer Kendy Jean said TT desires to position itself as the cultural capital of the region.

“Beyond the hosting of a multitude of cultural events, TT embraces religious and spiritual celebrations as well. In this regard, we at the ministry are pleased to endorse an international gospel festival. We hope that the upcoming events will place TT as a forerunner in embracing gospel festivals as well as opening up opportunities for our gospel artistes to present their music to a local, regional, and international audience. This weekend of activities promises to provide attendees with an amazing experience.”

Trade and Industry Ministry permanent secretary Ayleen Alleyne-Ovid said the festival provides an opportunity for artistes to be recognised and rewarded for their contribution to gospel music and a platform to showcase the talent that resides in TT.

“This year’s theme which focuses on expanding the TT gospel footprint will act as a catalyst to challenge other local artists, musicians, dancers, fashion designers, and other creative and cultural stakeholders to expand their brands and pursue opportunities that will bring exposure to the international market. The festival features three flagship events over the course of this four-day weekend will reflect the diversity of worship, creativity, and culture of our nation.”

She said the ministry was pleased that a business conference was included in the events, as this would encourage business-to-business and business-to-customer engagement.

“It is anticipated that these meetings and discussions will materialise into feasible business proposals and ventures to perform at musical outputs, state performances, and collaborations with other artists and stakeholders within the industry. We are of the view that this festival will stimulate publicity for our artists which will facilitate performance opportunities at regional and international events, and increase the prospect of musical collaborations.”

On Friday, the major event will be the Exalt: The Worship Experience 2023 concert – featuring American gospel singer Kierra Sheard-Kelly – at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port of Spain. The iREP Christ Concert 2023 takes place on Saturday at Sound Forge, St James. The final event is the Gospel Music Awards of TT 2023 at NAPA. All events start 6 pm.