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Public service should include arts training

Jul 23, 2014 Letters

Dear Editor,
I have made a point to stress that while my criticism of the Minister of Culture’s mismanagement of his portfolio will continue to be strident as long as that mismanagement remains a reality, I also remain open to working with the Ministry on clear, identifiable, sustainable goals.
In this regard, after extending a hand in cooperation, I was pleased that a few weeks ago it was accepted, albeit conditionally, by Director of Culture, Dr. James Rose.  To date, with cooperation from his office, the Janus Cultural Policy Initiative has run creative workshops on short fiction, drama, poetry and feature journalism at the Umana Yana.
The workshops were both well-attended and well-received, though being held during working hours, and it is our intention to host similar workshops at various venues around the country.
On July 31, we are slated to host our first conference on culture, with a focus on Culture in Development, also at the Umana Yana; in the upcoming months after, that our focus will be on Culture and Citizenship, Heritage, Culture and Freedom, Culture and Arts in Education, and Creative Industries.
I would also like to thank Chief Librarian (ag) Emily King not only for facilitating the use of the National Library conference room for our pre-conference seminar, but also for allowing three staff members partial time off to attend the poetry workshops.
One of the recommendations that I had made to the Ministry a few years ago was that public service policy should include arts training as a legitimate reason for time off work, and this is going to be included in our cultural policy blueprint at the end of the Initiative.
So far, the Janus Cultural Policy Initiative has attracted a core group of brilliant young people volunteering their time and intellectual effort, as well as respected academic advisors both in and out of Guyana.
As this initiative gains momentum, we will continue to welcome all willing stakeholders to cooperate towards the common goal of formulating and eventually instituting a national culture policy, one that can be integrated seamlessly into our post-2015 development agenda.
Ruel Johnson
Janus Cultural Policy Initiative

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