Place proper focus on the role of Culture

Next week, less than one month after the conclusion of VincyMas ’25, the Department of Culture in an amorphous Ministry of Tourism and much else, is expected to play arole in, first, the novel Emancipation Cricket Festival and, following it, our country’s participation in The Caribbean Arts Festival (CARIFESTA) 2025.

These fall within the ambit of the department which anyone familiar with its operations can only conclude is overworked, yet it never shirks from undertaking the tasks handed to it, even with its limited capacity. Indeed, such is the situation in which the Department of Culture finds itself, that local Soca Monarch (joint), Fireman Hooper, has publicly expressed concern over the treatment of culture locally. Fireman worries about the effect that the commercialisation of carnival, for example, is having on culture, saying that our culture “isfading” and that we are “losing its natural element”.

In a radio interview he pointed out that culture deserves a Ministry of its own and should not be subsumed within other ministries. The popular Soca bard urged the government to “stop treating culture as a stepchild”. Though this depends on one’s interpretation of how a “stepchild” should be treated, his message is clear.

Right on the heels of VincyMas for instance, the department is being called upon to play a leading role in Emancipation activities during the month of August.

Those activities go far beyond the Emancipation Cricket Festival itself. Beginning with the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1838, activities, varying in scope and size, have been organized to mark the occasion. As we embark on the events planned, we must commend the initiatives over the years to keep the Emancipation flag flying in Diamond village, in North Leeward and in later years, Sion Hill- all local initiatives supported by the Department of Culture.

This year there is an additional responsibility- that of organising this country’s participation in CARIFESTA) 2025, to be held

in Barbados from August 22-31. Financial challenges have, over the years, limited our country’s participation in this regional celebration of the arts, especially when it has been hosted far from our shores, but given the proximity of Barbados it is expected that SVG’s presence will be significantly increased. One would hope that the

government would pay some attention to the views of the local “Ruler” of Soca, as Fireman describes himself, and others who, over the years, have voiced similar views. Perspectives on the role of culture and the Department/Ministry of Culture may vary, but there is no doubt that greater attention needs to be paid to this important area of our work and living. Culture is far more all-encompassing than merely organizing performances to commemorate significant occasions.

Critical to this forward march must be education, both at the level of the school, as well as the wider population. It is very gratifying to learn that the first volume of OUR STORY, the history of our country as documented by patriotic scholars, will be available shortly. The common understanding of our historical development is a key element in our cultural evolution. We cannot shirk or fall short in the tasks before us.