by Basil Roman
Former Prime Minister of Jamaica the most honorable P.J. Patterson at the Carib News Multinational Business Conference 2014 in The Bahamas, presented a blueprint for cultural industry and its economic potential for development in the region.
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Prime Minister Patterson laid out in a quite detailed manner the elements of the cultural industries that would include music, fashion, film, games, sports, architecture, and other arts, and the richness of these resources in the region. The aforementioned cultural resources offer great opportunities to stimulate investment in these areas that would have a direct impact on the region’s economic development.
The then, Prime Minister of the Bahamas was so impressed with the presentation that Prime Minister Patterson made that he asked for permission to present it to CARICOM and CARICOM endorsed it as part of its official program. There has been a strong realization of the potential of cultural industries for the region and there have been attempts made to carve a path to realize that potential.
Today that potential has not been realized in the Caribbean and for the most part in any of the countries and there is strong sentiment being expressed not only in the Caribbean diaspora but also in the Caribbean itself that the development of the cultural industries in the region and in the individual countries are directed to the presentation of major events that would attract attendees and we can understand why.
But these events are these large-scale events are not owned by or controlled by Caribbean people but for the most part the beneficiaries are of foreign interests and they direct and control what’s happening for your sponsors which to a large extent are not local and for their enrichment. Sometimes with the support of government funds so while the events are promoted and look attractive in numbers it does not get to the issue of how we use the culture to have a real pathway to economic development that gets to the root of moving the region forward with the talent that it possess.
It is outsourcing the potential of the cultural industries making any deep impact in the unemployment or the development of homegrown talent with an opportunity of self-directed development and engagement and to understand and guide the business.
When Bob Marley and his song says `Get up, stand ‘ and this has been quoted by many of our Caribbean leaders we should heed that call and we should `get up, and stand up’, for the cultural industries of the region and the governments need to take serious note, stand up to find the structural underpinning that is required to move the economies of the region by the talent and resources that exist in the region with the help and direction of the government.
Finding the way to leverage financial and technological, administrative and logistics to nurture generate and expand the cultural industry that it produces for the region. The PJ Patterson document is a great place to start and it is understood that it has even been updated by the PJ Patterson Institute at the University the West Indies. So there is a blueprint and what is needed is the political will to move forward, so many of these companies promoting these large-scale so-called cultural events are powerful with direct connection to the government that they are almost untouchable but their interests do not coincide with the interests of the people of the country the most part and so the government has to look at it seriously.
The uniqueness of the cultural industry and its critical importance both in terms of commercial value and national development means a lot for the Caribbean and it is time for the leaders and stakeholders to come together and seriously look at it for its true potential and support and direct that effort that it has the sustainable and long-lasting effect not just a blare of publicity.
