The National Academy for the Performing Arts hosted a cheque distribution event on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and the Arts.
The Ministry said in a statement that Randall Mitchell, Minister of Tourism, Culture, and the Arts, gave checks totaling $1,755,000 to 145 unsponsored Steelbands and $4,000,000 to Pan Trinbago so that the latter may make payments to an anticipated 8,000 Steelpan Players for Carnival 2024.
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According to the Ministry, the awards were authorized by the Cabinet in acknowledgment of the important contribution steel bands make to Trinidad and Tobago’s social and cultural advancement.
Mitchell characterized the steelpan as “the symbol of excellence that was developed right here in Trinidad and Tobago”.
In addition, he expressed his gratitude to Pan Trinbago for helping to guarantee that the steelpan would flourish and receive the recognition it merits across the board in the economy.
The Minister expressed gratitude to the Steelpan fraternity for their contribution to youth engagement and intercommunal unity. He ended by underlining the various benefits the government offers to those who support Steelpan and extending an invitation to Corporate Trinidad and Tobago to invest in Steelpan development.
President of Pan Trinbago Beverly Ramsey-Moore supported these views, highlighting the necessity of further commercial sector collaboration to support Steelband’s’ work.
She thanked Minister Mitchell for his support of the Steelpan fraternity and emphasized the value of subsidies such as this in order to defray the expenses associated with taking part in Panorama.
She also expressed her appreciation for the Ministry’s acknowledgment of the important contribution bandleaders have been giving to society and expressed her expectation that the Ministry and she will continue to collaborate in 2024 to upgrade pan yards.
Grants to unsponsored Steelbands in anticipation of Carnival 2024
According to the Ministry, the government has recently given financial assistance to enable unsponsored steel bands to participate in the country’s Carnival celebrations.
According to the Ministry, these monies are allocated for necessary preliminary tasks such as instrument repair, mixing, transporting, and chroming.
According to the Ministry, funds totaling $15,000 were given to conventional bands, and $7,500 were given to single-pan bands.
According to the Ministry, Panorama is an essential component of the country’s Carnival product and a key component of the national Carnival celebrations. A grant was first made available by the government to steelpan players (Remittances) in 1998 for their participation in the yearly Panorama contests.
Steelpan players must fulfill the following requirements to be eligible: be a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, a holder of a national identification card or other legitimate identification, a registered player with an eligible Steelband, must perform with a band up to the preliminary round of Panorama.
The Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and the Arts declared that it is still dedicated to supporting these policies that are meant to foster social and human development and to create a sense of pride and ownership by encouraging more involvement in the Steelband community.
