Independence Anniversary an Opportunity to Showcase Jamaica – Hanna

Minister of Youth and Culture, Hon. Lisa Hanna, said the celebration of Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary of Independence provides an opportunity for the country to showcase its rich cultural heritage to the region and the rest of the world.

Addressing Tuesday’s (April 17) promotional launch of the Creative Production and Training Centre’s (CPTC) ‘Jamaica 50’ Cultural Celebrations, the Minister said that the observance of the milestone, was more than a cause for celebration.

“People can look forward to that element of ‘Jamaica 50’ not only as being celebratory, but also capturing in our souls, what makes us truly Jamaican and giving us that identity that so many persons around the world have come to identify and love about us,” she stated.

The launch, held at the CPTC's Wycliffe Bennett Studio in Kingston, saw the unveiling of two new programmes by the agency; ‘Jamaica Beat’ and ‘This Week in 1962’.

Chief Executive Officer of the CPTC, Chantal Hylton Tonnes, informed that the development of the programmes is in support of the agency’s mandate “to record, promote and archive diverse expressions of Jamaica’s culture, with a view to nurturing a sense of national pride and identity”.

She informed that the Jamaica 50 Secretariat was invited to co-produce the programmes “in recognition of the shared objectives”.

Minister Hanna expressed gratitude particularly to the CPTC for preserving and promoting the country’s heritage and pledged the continued support of her ministry going forward.

The two programmes launched today, will be aired on CVM TV starting this month and will run until the end of the year. 

Jamaica Beat will weave the arts, culture and entertainment into a uniquely Jamaican package.  The target audience is young adults in Jamaica and the Diaspora.  A special two-minute feature in the programme, titled ‘Jamaica 50’ will be utilised by the Jamaica 50 Secretariat, to promote activities related to the Independence celebrations this year.

The second programme, This Week in 1962, will look at events which occurred in 1962, the year of Jamaica’s Independence. It will take the form of two-minute vignettes giving a retrospective look at social, cultural and other national developments during that year.

The launch, held in collaboration with the Jamaica 50 Secretariat, was carried live via radio and television and included   interviews and promotional features.

By Allan Brooks, JIS Senior Reporter