Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade

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"Come to CARIFESTA; we are ready to host you; are you ready to come?"

This is the firm and positive message delivered to the Caribbean Region by the Honourable Dr Frank Anthony, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Guyana, as he addressed the Opening Session of the Nineteenth Meeting of the Regional Culture Committee this morning (23 April 2008) at the Grand Coastal Inn, East Coast Demerara, Guyana.

Dr Anthony welcomed the delegates to Guyana and assured the Meeting that the Government was working assiduously to introduce more than one-hundred events over ten days for the tenth staging of the Caribbean Festival of the Arts (CARIFESTA X).

He noted that this mammoth task would require "every hand on board" and to this end the government of Guyana intended to recruit more than two-thousand volunteers to assist with the logistics of the Festival.

The Minister also told the Meeting that already, Guyana had embarked on infrastructural development and upgrading of requisite facilities to host CARIFESTA. He pointed out that Guyana has also placed its own unique brand on the Festival by introducing some innovations which include a children's art competition; the launch of a series of books called the Guyana Classics; gospel concerts and other religious song competitions and the commissioning of a number of Public Art projects, which the Minister said would not only serve to enhance the artistic beauty of the city of Georgetown but would serve to create an art trail across the country.

Recalling the extra-ordinary display of talent at the first CARIFESTA in 1972 which was also hosted by Guyana, Dr Anthony charged Directors of Culture and other senior officials representing Member States of the Caribbean Community to ensure that their country's delegation reflects the excellence for which CARIFESTA is reputed.

"Anything short of excellence," he said would be doing the Festival and the Region a disfavour."

He challenged the Region to get involved, noting that showcasing the best would help to set a new standard for CARIFESTA and assist in the development of our cultural industries.

"I am optimistic that just like in 1972, when we had the pleasure of having some of the best regional groups here, so too in 2008, that not only would you repeat the feat but you would surpass it .

I am confident that we will make this one of the most memorable cultural spectacles for our region," the Minister concluded.

Dr Edward Greene, Assistant Secretary General, CARICOM Secretariat, in his remarks, welcomed the delegates and thanked the Guyana Government for hosting the Meeting.

He commended the RCC for its efforts in surpassing its mandate and for being at the forefront of advocacy to mainstream culture in the regional integration process and in the sustainable development paradigm of the region.

In setting the tone, Dr Greene encouraged the delegates to address priority issues such as the proposed merger of the CARICOM Foundation of Art and Culture with the CARIFORUM Cultural Support Fund, an issue which he said, had been on the agenda for awhile.

Dr Greene expressed his hope that the RCC would provide the much anticipated advice on how to effectively conclude and advance the development of a consolidated fund.

" Developing a sustained pool of resources to support a range of cultural projects and programmes in the Region - from CARIFESTA to commemorative events of historical significance, to infrastructural development - continues to be a priority area that needs to be urgently addressed,' Dr Greene iterated.

In underscoring the welcome extended by Dr Greene, Mr Sydney Bartley, Principal Director, Entertainment and Culture, Jamaica and Chairman of the RCC commended Guyana for its progress in the preparing for the Festival and pledged the support of the RCC for the implementation of the Festival.

Expressing concern that some longstanding matters on the Agenda had not yet been realised, Mr Bartley urged the Meeting to treat with urgency, the issue of the creation and development of cultural industries.

"We must make it happen." he emphasized.

He further pointed out that some countries were still lagging with the development of national cultural policies; while others had not yet ratified the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, noting their importance in sustaining cultural development in the Region.

The Regional Culture Committee was established in 1988 as an advisory body to the Ministers of Culture in the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD). Its mandate is to advise on cultural policy and other matters related to cultural development in the Region.

The Nineteenth Meeting ends on Friday, April 25, 2008.

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