San Juan, April 14 (EFE) 19.
The Caribbean Community (Caricom) said in a statement this Thursday that the initiative has been included within the framework of the European Union’s ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) Countries Cultural Programme.
Release is scheduled for April 21st.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the CARICOM Secretariat and the University of the West Indies have joined forces to implement the project entitled “Creative Caribbean – An Ecosystem for Growth and Development”.
The three-year project, to be implemented in fifteen Caribbean countries, aims to develop a creative economy through financial support for cultural industries.
Creative and cultural industries targeted by the grants include music, fashion, festivals, film, animation and new media, and visual and performing arts, among others.
The sector provides millionaire income in the Caribbean every year and employs thousands of people.
The initiative will provide grants to creative and cultural professionals to build more competitive global businesses and enhance their professional development.
“It is an undeniable fact that the impact of Covid-19 on the cultural and creative industries has been of enormous importance. The project aims to create an enabling environment in which creatives have incentives to produce, thrive and become a major engine for sustainable development in the region,” said Saadia Sánchez Vegas, Director of the UNESCO Caribbean Office .
The list of beneficiary countries includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad Tobago.