14,162 Event Permits Issued By JCF In 2022

A total of 14,162 event permits were issued by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in 2022, a 938 per cent increase over the 1,364 permits issued in 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, provided the figures during her contribution to the 2023/24 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (June 13).

“But compared to the 2019 event permit numbers, when 20,762 permits were issued, the 2022 number is considered low. We anticipate further growth and development,” Ms. Grange said.

The Minister also informed that in the last financial year, the Ministry provided grants totalling $490.5 million to support culture, gender, entertainment, and sport.

“This includes subventions to sports federations; grants to cultural communities, including the maroons; and subventions to gender organisations,” Ms. Grange stated.

Additionally, the Ministry collaborated in the staging of, or sponsored mega events across the island, including Reggae Month, Jamaica Festival, Carnival in Jamaica, Reggae Sumfest, Rebel Salute, as well as the first ever Island Music Conference – all designed to stimulate activity in the entertainment industry and the several sectors that rely on entertainment.

“As we facilitate the realisation of our people’s ambitions, another area of focus has been the promotion of entertainment, culture and the creative industries as full-fledged fields with serious career and economic development options,” Ms. Grange said.

She added that the Ministry hosted the Jamaica Creative Career Expo for students at secondary and tertiary institutions to give them opportunities to engage with successful local and international creative entrepreneurs and professionals.

More than 700 students attended the Expo at the Jamaica Conference Centre, which focused on Fashion, Film, Entertainment Production, and the Performing Arts.

The Expo featured Jamaican-born Janet Rolle, the former General Manager of Beyoncé’s Parkway Entertainment, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at CNN Worldwide and currently the first black woman Chief Executive Officer of American Ballet Theatre; and Dr. Miles Davis, President of Linfield University.

Ms. Grange informed that Dr. Davis offered five scholarships to Jamaican students for each year of the Expo.

Additionally, 60 scholarships were offered to students by Creatives whose work touch areas of the creative industries.