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Promoting culture seen as tactic to help fast-track Caribbean growth
Minister Shawn Edward
For some time now the services sector has been identified as an important growth sector deserving of increased attention and it has indeed received this attention over the past two decades.
However, Minister of Youth Development and Sports of St Lucia, Mr. Shawn Edward, during a recent visit here shared his conviction that “We must embrace and develop more strategically that range of creative services which will help us to leverage our natural, human and creative talent and assets in support of the sustainable development of our region.”
Edward, who was visiting Guyana to chair the 29th Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) which was held at the Turkeyen, Caricom Secretariat earlier this month, said that, that forum, which focused on youth and culture, was in fact “Excellent for us to examine this issue and in particular to consider major policy imperatives which would facilitate the development of this sector.”
But this is by no means a new endeavour as according to Edward, the creation of an enabling environment to advance the creative service was considered in great detail at the 26th Intercessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in February.
At that meeting he disclosed that “Our heads agreed that the nations of the Caribbean would work towards moulding a productive and efficient growth path which would emphasise the value of a knowledge economy and embrace a paradigm to the idea that culture is the region’s business.”
The new knowledge economy envisioned, Edward noted, is characterised by the effective use of intangible assets such as knowledge, ideas and designs which are key resources for achieving a competitive advantage.
In fact, he added, that creativity is an imperative to foster economy growth and wealth creation. And according to Edward, the knowledge economy is greatly facilitated by the new information and communication technologies which render location irrelevant as goods and services can be provided to any part of the world.
And according to him, the creative industry is at the core of the knowledge economy and this is certainly an area in which Caricom can achieve competitive advantage for its indigenous talents and artistic and cultural traditions.
Edward, however, questioned, “How do we address such an agenda? What are some of the major pre-requisites for leveraging human and cultural assets?”
He nevertheless is convinced that a major area of focus must be education and training which he believes are “cornerstones for achieving the competitive advantage which we seek.”
Edward observed that “there is no doubt that we have made great strides in our education systems over the past 50 years. We have increased the averaging schooling from 4.3 years in 1960 to 10.3 years presently.”
Over the past two decades, Edward noted, too, there has also been significant expansion in tertiary education. He, however, considered that the enrolment rates are way below that required for successful participation in the knowledge economy.
Also of concern to Edward is the inadequate access to pre-primary education in the state system in many countries. This provision gap, he noted, serves as a disadvantage to children and especially those from lower socio-economic groups, rural and hinterland areas, and represents a situation of inequality and the provision with regard to an important education foundation.
He, moreover, contended that “In our education system we have not been paying adequate attention to children with disabilities and special needs hampering life chances for this already disadvantaged group.”
But perhaps the most serious aspect of this situation, he added, is the mismatch between the skills required in our education system and that which is required for the world of work.
Several studies have documented this phenomenon and it has for certain impacted on the employment potential for many Caribbean youths. And this state of affairs, Edward related, has in many cases led to many cases of unlawful means of earning a living, frustration and contributing to an escalation in youth crime and violence.
“We cannot afford to lose so many of our youths and need to strategise to ensure that they can take advantage of the opportunities and choices that will empower them to contribute positively to their own development and that of our region,” asserted Edward.
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