Plans to implement a strategy called “Pan Against Crime” are now in the final development stages, following a meeting last week Thursday at the office of the Prime Minister, with various stake holders.{{more}}

These include officials from the Youlou Pan Movement, the Police Force, the Ministries of Culture and Youth Affairs, and the Ministry of National Security.

The Pan against Crime campaign is an initiative by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, which seeks to utilize the steel pan as an instrument in the fight against crime and the causes of crime in St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

A planning committee with representatives from the Youlou Pan Movement, the Police Force and the Ministries of Culture and Youth Affairs met here on Monday to put together an implementation document to facilitate the launch of this strategy.

This document will be discussed with all stakeholders at a meeting scheduled for January 29th at the Cabinet Room.

Basically, Pan against Crime will see the staging of a series of concerts in the state, at which a number of key messages against crime will be presented.

As a second phase, the Pan against Crime strategy will see the training of a large number of young Vincentians to play the steel pan. There will also be workshops for pan tuners and arrangers. In the third phase, the strategy will look at the identification of commercial opportunities for pan sides in the state, to allow them to earn income on a sustained basis. It is expected that the Pan against Crime campaign will be launched some time in the month of February, 2008.