Grange elected as vice chair of Inter-American Committee on Culture
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange was elected as vice chair of the Inter-American Committee on Culture at the recently concluded VII Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Culture and Highest Appropriate Authorities in Paraguay.
A news release from the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport said the Inter-American Committee on Culture is the technical-political body of discussion in the area of culture, and is composed of representatives of the ministries of culture and highest appropriate authorities of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Minister Grange said the committee’s main function is to see to the implementation of the mandates of the Declarations and Plans of Action of the Ministerial Meetings on Culture, as well as of those that emanate from the Summits of the Americas.
The Committee on Culture, which was established in 2008, has over the years focused on a areas such as: The role of culture in social development and economic integration and growth; preservation of cultural heritage; challenges of cultural industries; culture and indigenous peoples; drafting of culture policies and impact on Caribbean citizens; culture and equality; and cultural diversity and public policies.
Minister Grange will serve alongside: Minister-Secretary of Culture of Paraguay, Fernando Griffith (Chair); Minister of Culture of Guatemala, José Luis Chea Urruela (Vice Chair); Beatriz Vivas, Director, Directorate International Cooperation, Ministry of Culture of Argentina (Vice Chair); Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth of Barbados, Stephen Lashley (Vice Chair).
Grange said she is grateful for the opportunity to play such an integral role in the development of culture in Latin America and the Caribbean. She also pledged to ensure that Jamaica follows in the footsteps of the Latin American countries in the OAS, which have already reaped significant economic benefits from their initiatives in the cultural and creative industries, when compared to their Caribbean counterparts.
