Government Ministers
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Visitors to our Shores
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen

I consider it an especial honour to be here with you this evening and to have the opportunity to address you. I welcome one and all to this year’s Caribbean Festival of the Arts. On behalf of the government and people the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, I extend a special welcome to those of you who have graced our shores to be part of this festival. I also wish to extend greetings to those who are following this event in your homes here in Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the Caribbean, or wherever you might be across the world at this time. Welcome to CAFESTA IX.

To any onlooker today, and certainly to any discerning mind, the Caribbean is at a most important juncture in its history. We have made unprecedented strides in recent times with the establishment of a number of key regional institutions, including Caribbean Court of Appeal, and, even more recently, the CARICOM Single Market. We are now moving expeditiously towards the establishment of the regional single economy. We are moving to leverage the Caribbean economy, consummate the integration process at the required level and set the Caribbean free.

After centuries of a difficult history which the world knows so well, and which we know more than most, we can, if we continue to do everything right, for ourselves, in our own interest, and in a necessary and self-validating way, begin to think for the very first time of the making of a century we can call our very own. But we cannot do so without a proper appreciation of our culture

Ladies and gentlemen, in all that we have been through, in all that we have achieved, the culture of our people has been our indispensable handmaiden, sustaining our regional citizenry through the best and worst of times. That’s the way culture works normally.

But, for the most part, our experience in the Region was anything but normal. For centuries that culture had been disparaged, frowned upon, rejected and overlooked in favour of what metropolitan hegemony has sought to inculcate in us as a more apt and classic manifestation of the culture attendant to progress and civilization.

The remarkable fact, though, is that what has been for centuries regarded as nonsensical, or “bachannal”, to use the Trinidad and Tobago colloquialism, has triumphed, through our songs, dances, drama, poetry, oral traditions, cuisine and so on.

The result is that today the world is much more open, and it is now well recognised that the Caribbean is tremendously rich in human and cultural diversity is beyond question. Further, that the broadness and richness of Caribbean culture goes way beyond our regional boundaries.

That is as it must be, for our people are a microcosm of the global society, our forbears having come from all over the world. Everywhere in our Region, therefore, this has resulted in the proliferation of cultural art forms to which people all over the world can relate.

Some aspects go back more directly to the ancestral traditions of our people. Others, of more recent vintage, constitute but the latest reflections of the tremendous talent and creative genius of our citizenry.

The people of our Region continue to craft all of our experiences, and indeed all the experiences of the world into a uniquely vibrant and dynamic culture, with something special for the development of human civilization.

Its refinement into what it has become continues today speaks to its tremendous potential as a world-class culture with all the requirements for the global stage. The onus is now on us to enrich humanity accordingly, by extending our cultural heritage across the planet. It is only out of this that we will realize all that our culture has to offer for the further development of skill and entrepreneurship among our people.

Culture is, of course, more than only visual and performing arts. It reflects our way of life and is a window to the heart and soul of our people. For us in the Caribbean this is about our love of life, and our capacity to laugh at ourselves, our love of peace and goodwill, and our remarkable warmth and hospitality. Ladies and gentlemen, when all is added up, we truly have a lot to offer to ourselves, to celebrate, and to offer to the rest of the world.

It is all of this that CARIFESTA IX exhibits. It seeks to showcase the art and culture of the Caribbean, to facilitate artistic and intellectual exchanges among our people, and to give impetus to the flourishing of our culture at the regional level and in the wider world.

I propose however that we more strongly view all of this in a particular context, that we carefully consider the theme of this year’s event: “Celebrating our People: Contesting the World Stage.”

And, in this regard, let us view this particular festival as a special coming together of the Caribbean, a coming together of our common culture to stake its claim on the world stage.

The people of the Caribbean are for the most part ready, willing and able, and the road from here onward cannot but lead forward.

The time has come to work fervently on reaping the rewards of our rich cultural blessings. Let us therefore take our culture to the four corners of the earth.

The government of Trinidad and Tobago is fully cognisant of the imperatives before us in this regard, and has been taking steps to ensure the vast cultural collage of our Region is channelled toward our development in this part of the world.

As a government we have taken and continue to take steps to ensure the embrace of all the people of our very cosmopolitan society.

We have begun the promotion and development of innovations in a variety of fields, including culture. We are also focussing on education and training for the development of the cultural industry. The great cultural wealth of our country and Region must be developed at all levels.

The development of the business aspects has been engaging the attention of the government for some time. It is in fact out of this that, recently, the government accepted a proposal for a strategic plan designed to give a more business-like orientation to this year’s CARIFESTA, and which takes into consideration all the social, economic, legal demographic and competitive issues – inclusive of the financial and marketing issues to be treated in order to realise the spin offs which for one reason or another have been denied this great festival over its thirty years of existence.

We recognise the composite nature of CARIFESTA, its importance to the Caribbean, the existence of a large global Caribbean diaspora, the dynamism and vibrancy of our regional culture, its potential for providing opportunities for our women and youth.

There is also a greater global awareness and appreciation of culture. It is against the background of all of this that what we are presenting here this time around is a prototype of a new CARIFESTA which, hopefully, will take this roving, regional mega-event to the next level – that is to say, across the Atlantic, the Pacific and the global village.

Trinidad and Tobago is proud to host CARIFESTA IX and to present this package to you.

Do enjoy this exhilarating and exciting slice of Caribbean talent and humanity. Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much. It is now my pleasure to declare CARIFESTA IX officially open.