Japanese Gov’t Providing US$482,000 for IOJ Technological Upgrading

The Japanese Government is providing funding of US$482,000 to enhance the technological capacity of the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ).

Minister of Youth and Culture, Hon. Lisa Hanna, said the funding will go towards a number of initiatives, including the building of a world-class technology-driven natural history exhibition gallery at the Natural History Museum.

The Minister, who was making her contribution to the 2015/16 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 6, informed that the exhibit will showcase Jamaican plants and animals “as we would see them in their natural habitat.”

“These will be presented in the form Diaromas, which is life-size models of the various species that are both native and endemic,” she explained.

“The significance of this initiative is, of course, the educational value that will be imparted to students and the wider population, who will visit the space. This is another major step towards preserving the natural heritage of our island,” she noted.

Ms. Hanna informed that the Japanese Government has already committed funding for this specific initiative estimated at over US$60,000.

Additional funding will also go towards other special projects to include the technological upgrading of the audiovisual capacity of the lecture hall, which continues to host annual events such as the Musgrave Awards.

Funding will also be made available for the establishment of an information technology training facility at the Junior Centre.

The IOJ is the oldest cultural agency mandated to preserve and safeguard Jamaica’s tangible and intangible heritage.