Carifesta Secretariat

Aug 27, 2008 Editorial

The question as to what happens after the staging of Carifesta X is completed has been posed by almost every artiste participating – as it has been from the staging of the very first Carifesta in Guyana some thirty-six years ago.

With the major role that “culture” plays in the biggest industry of the region – tourism – one would have thought that the governments in Caricom would have moved long ago to institutionalise the event.

But it is no use crying over spilt milk and we propose that a committee of prominent figures in the cultural field be constituted immediately to craft a proposal on the most feasible route to ensure that not only should we not have to re-invent the event every four years, but that we can take it to new, grander levels.

It was pointed out that within Caricom, there is a “culture desk” but it was also pointed out that it has been a complete waste of scarce Caribbean recourse to man that office since nothing has emanated from those quarters that has helped the arts in any way, shape or form since it was established.

The same might probably be said of the entire Caricom Secretariat and the goal of regional integration, but that is another (sad) story.

The fact of the matter is that while it may be trite sounding, it is the possession and practice of a common culture that binds us together and this glue of our initial coming together was specifically noted in the organs of formation of Caricom by our founding fathers.

We put the cart before the horse in rushing to create a CSME without bringing to the fore the truth that it was not just the expediency of economics that could bring us, but the recognition that we are one people, with, as our Guyanese motto says, one destiny.

This lapse has been one of the most pertinent reasons that the move towards a more lasting union has floundered.

Today, the region faces many fissiparous tendencies. Trinidad and Tobago seems determined to forge ahead with a union of the smaller islands, while Jamaica, basking in its haul of medals at the Beijing Olympics, is trumpeting “Brand Jamaica”, just as it did at the opening of the Cricket World Cup last year.

We believe that the focus on just economics will exacerbate the tensions towards greater unity because of the inevitable built-in calculus of cold cash-accounting.

But this is where a permanent Carifesta Secretariat can take the lead in fostering the spirit and patriotism towards a greater united Caribbean by exposing our peoples to the reality of our commonalities and deep heritage and linkages.

Mingling among the crowds during the present celebrations and symposia of Carifesta, one is struck continuously by the exclamations of recognition in the common folk as they are exposed to the lifestyles of our Caribbean brethren and sistren.

There have been calls for a Caribbean Museum that would be located in one particular territory, but which could then conduct a regular regimen of travelling exhibits throughout the region. This museum could come under the responsibility of the Carifesta Secretariat.

The Secretariat could also conduct annual writers’ workshops, craft and art workshops etc. in the region on a rotating basis, so that the institutional memory of our creativity would not have to be continuously reinvented.

There have been justifiable complaints from the artistic community that they have to be grubbing for a living even as their production, whether in song, dance or artifact, brings recognition to the region but no lasting rewards for them.

The Secretariat could possibly organise the marketing and the securing of intellectual rights for the artistes that are now vital in the modern marketplace.

We believe that Guyana should take the lead in establishing the permanent Carifesta Secretariat. We are the country that launched the festival and we have a moral responsibility to ensure that the vision of the founding fathers is not dissipated in the rise of parochialism that appears to be sweeping the region.

The EU was able to move towards the union that it presently enjoys, and which has rewarded it richly, primarily because it was recognised from the beginning that the countries of Western Europe shared a common culture. We can do no worse.