Cultural Industries Council to Replace Entertainment Advisory Board

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has announced that a new Cultural Industries Council would replace the existing Entertainment Advisory Board in the Ministry of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, “with immediate effect.”
This should position Jamaica to tap into “one of the largest industries in the world,” the Prime Minister said.
Making her contribution in the 2007/08 Budget Debate in the House, yesterday (May 1), Mrs. Simpson Miller pointed out that, “cultural industries represent Jamaica’s natural competitive advantage.”
She outlined that the main objectives of the Council are to formulate plans to establish marketing and product development for the cultural industries; develop a comprehensive cultural industries policy; establish and manage a cultural industries development fund; and to commission a cultural industries labour market survey.
Mrs. Simpson Miller said that the Council would “play a catalytic role in bringing all the various public sector interests that impact the cultural industries together, to work with members of the creative industries.”
“This is in recognition that we just have to take a serious and focused business approach to fully maximize our natural talent and creativity,” she added.
Noting that Jamaica has barely scratched the surface in terms of harnessing and marketing the power of culture, Mrs. Simpson Miller pledged that her administration would be making “a most serious and sustained thrust to develop and export our cultural services.”
“Our goal is for Jamaica to become the centre of cultural excellence in the western hemisphere,” she declared.