The Government’s aim and hope is that cultural industries legislation will assist young Barbadians in developing their creative imagination into global business opportunities for personal betterment and national good. This is a highly desirable goal.
This small country cannot regard itself as self-sufficient and ring-fenced from the rest of the world. We need to develop and enhance our global reach, since our local and regional markets are not sufficient spaces in which to extract maximum advantage for the goods and services which we can produce using our God-given talents and our creative abilities.
Sometimes we say that our Creator is a Bajan. All the more, then, the rest of the world should be regarded as our market and our individuals and companies must therefore enhance their outward perspective and develop those industries and businesses that will enable us to export our goods and services. And cultural industries are ideally suited to maximum global exposure.
During the past week, Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley urged us all, but particularly the youth, to seize the opportunities made possible by the incentives and benefits provided in the Cultural Industries Development Act, proclaimed and made effective, last Sunday.
The minister urged cultural practitioners to reach for success by aiming to take a dominant role within the regional and extra regional markets. Barbadians, he says, must have confidence in themselves to believe that such is possible.
We are a creative people but for far too long have we hidden our light under a bushel. Technology now enables us to showcase our talents to the entire global marketplace; and it has become an urgent necessity that we do so, if we are to help spur export earnings and renewed economic growth.
Some well known regional citizens have taken their names onto the global stage with their exploits in literature, sport and entertainment. The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers; our Rihanna, the Mighty Sparrow, Bob Marley and George Lamming immediately spring to mind as well known role models for our globally minded cultural activists. The emerging local film industry and our young television writers and producers are worthy aspirants to this legacy.
The minister’s message is timely, but the development of the cultural industries is not confined to the youth, since cultural practice and activity is an all-age activity, and we must cover and market the entire range of services which we can produce or create.
By happy coincidence the minister was not the only official speaking over the past weekend. Equally on point but in a different setting was the president of the Barbados Economic Society, Jeremy Stephen, who addressed the Rotoract members on Saturday evening.
He too urged the youngsters to be outward-looking disclosing that while he is based in Barbados part of his income is made from sources outside of the island, since he had taken advantage of opportunities in Guyana and elsewhere in the region and beyond.
He too, told his audience to have the self-confidence and the determination to go after what they saw as opportunities, and not to be deterred by negative opinions of other persons. He drew attention to a young person in the audience who successfully developed AnimeKon, thereby bringing recognition to this island in the field of animation.
We hope that the Cultural Industries Act will galvanise many more of our people to see their creative imagination as a source of ideas that can be turned into viable businesses, with the global marketplace not beyond their reach.