Parliament

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The Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, is spearheading the drive to set up a reggae museum to showcase the challenges and achievements of Jamaican music.

Making the announcement yesterday (June 17) during her 2008/09 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives, Minister Olivia Grange stated that while related agencies have been engaged in impressive levels of research and documentation, there is need for a space to house the artifacts of local history, not just to keep them in storage, but to make them accessible to the nation.

"The Reggae Museum will represent all the struggles and achievements of Jamaican music and showcase the energy and vibrations of the Jamaican ethos. It will provide the world with a point of focus for the appreciation and experience of the authentic product, reflecting the history, reality and flair of the greatest exponents," she stated. She informed that well-known musicologist Herbie Miller had committed to the task of assisting the Ministry to set up the museum.

In addition, Miss Grange said an entertainment and cultural industries council is being established, with part of its mandate being to ensure that there is a Cultural Enhancement Fund, similar to the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). "Every company that comes into Jamaica, that wishes to film an activity, will now have to ensure that a royalty comes to Jamaica from doing that film," she explained.

A special concert dubbed: 'Get Ready to Rocksteady' is scheduled for later this month, and will feature a wide genre of Jamaican music as part of a Canadian programme to create a documentary. Arrangements have already been made, Minister Grange said, for a percentage of the proceeds from this event to go into the CEF.

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