Declaration of Intent Signed for the Establishment of a Culture and Creative Industries Fund

A declaration of intent for the establishment of a culture and creative industries fund was signed on Thursday (April 2) by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), during a ceremony at the Ministry’s office in New Kingston.

In his remarks, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Deanroy Bernard, described the initiative as a timely response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.

“[This] is a very impressive initiative for the culture and creative industries…The passage of Hurricane Melissa was devastating on our creatives, on our cultural practitioners, on our cultural sites. It is something that we have been grappling with as to how to respond,” Mr. Bernard told JIS News.

He explained that the government, in collaboration with UNESCO, conducted a post-disaster assessment which highlighted the need for resilience.

“What came out of that is the importance of ensuring not only that we build back better, bigger and stronger, but that we remain resilient to ensure that…whenever a catastrophic event like this would occur or recur, our creatives, practitioners are prepared. It is the government’s duty to ensure that they are prepared,” he said.

The fund will begin through a seed funding of $100 million to support creative practitioners during disasters, restore tools of trade, provide capital and operational support, and support covering their expenditure here and a while touring abroad.

“The fund, supported by the culture and creative industries foundation, will be a resilient effort to ensure that when I am gone, when Minister Grange is gone, the foundation and the fund will be here, and our cultural and creative industry will remain resilient,” Mr. Bernard added.