It is indeed a pleasure for me to address you on this occasion – the Official Opening of this the celebration of our 31st year of Independence.
Such celebrations are significant, in that, they afford us the opportunity to build on our strengths, learn from the lessons of our past and create a brighter, more prosperous future for ourselves and our children.
This year, we observe our 31st anniversary under the theme “Celebrating Progress and Development”. Through this theme we examine how far we have progressed, as we celebrate our achievements. We also use it to set new goals and try to reach for higher heights. And most importantly we draw upon it to give thanks to God for all that He has done for us, as a nation.
Over the years, Dominica’s Independence celebrations have evolved into a major Folk Festival that also incorporated the World Creole Music Festival. With our wide range of activities and our emphasis on creole wear, creole food, creole music and dance, and our emphasis on our creole culture in general, it can certainly be said to be one of the most vibrant national celebrations in existence, worthy of being displayed on the World Stage. This has not happened by chance or co-incidence, but by careful nurturing by successive governments throughout these past 31 years, starting with the vision of our beloved national hero and first Premiere the, Hon. Edward Oliver Leblanc. Such was his love and enthusiasm for his country and culture, that his plan for these celebrations captured the imagination of an entire nation who rallied from all walks of life to give strength and meaning to the notion of nationhood and pride of country.
It is for this reason that today Cultural Officers and District Development Officers, Village councils and Youth Groups, dancers and singers, counteurs and drummers, cooks and dress-makers, school teachers and school children, the youth and the elders, come together to say, “Yes, we are proud to be Dominican”.
This is a Celebration that unites our country, builds national identity and pride and promotes and preserves the national cultural heritage. It inspires the youth to keep away from violence and drugs, and it develops the talents and skills of hundreds of Dominicans.
Even before the term “cultural industries” became popular our country has been recognizing their central role in our development through these celebrations. We have been doing this by including the arts and craft industries, the preparation and sale of local food and the making and sale of creole wear for both men and women. The festival provides sources of income for folk performers who are hired to bring “entertainment with meaning” to various events throughout the country. The Independence Celebrations promote education, cultural tourism, while they recognize and honour the achievements of Dominicans in all various fields of endeavour.
In short, they showcase Dominica to visitors and the wider world.
The development of our country cannot lie solely with Government, the private sector or the church, but instead it rests with every Dominican at home and abroad. At this time I urge us all to recommit ourselves to playing our part in our country’s development and to make our contribution based on our skills and talents and our vision for a better Dominica.
In this financial year Government through the Ministry of Community Development, Culture, Gender Affairs and Information allocated close to $400,000.00 projects and independence celebrations.
We also recognize that the promotion of economic growth and job creation in our rural and urban communities will also be strengthened through the promotion of our cultural industries. Through the ALBA Grand National Culture Project we will see the acceleration of implementation of our National Culture Policy, institutional strengthening at the level of the Division of Culture, National Culture Council and our Community Culture organizations and groups. There will be improved technologies, increased capacity building and equipping, product development and marketing and infrastructural development, networking and cultural exchanges involving our artists, cultural workers and industry investors, and the promotion and development of our major festivals and village feasts.
This Government has consistently recognized the imperative of the development of our culture, evidenced by the approval of the National Culture Policy in 2007, and reiterated in the 2008 revised Growth and Social Protection Strategy, so as to provide an environment where all citizens have access to and participate in opportunities for creativity and the fullest cultural expression as a fundamental right; an environment where artists and investors in cultural industries have full access to the potential revenues which could accrue from their creations and investment; and most importantly, an environment that will shape productive individuals through creative cultural expressions, education and targeted social systems.
Last year’s Reunion was a major success. This year’s celebration must be seen as a continuation of the journey we started then remembering that joy must be taken in journey itself as well as arriving at the destination.
I therefore, to congratulate all the groups and individuals taking part in this year’s opening ceremony and in the all the various activities and competitions that will unfold in the coming weeks. I thank all the sponsors who are playing their part in one way or another and I wish success and joy to every activity being held as part of the celebrations. Remember that a petition is meant to bring out excellence and the best in all of us – not the worst in any of us. Compete with pride and joy and with the knowledge that our country’s wealth is in its culture to which, win or lose, you hold the key. Therefore, every performer is always a winner.
I wish you all a blessed, joyous and safe Independence Season and I pray that God will bless our efforts as we continue to build this beautiful Nature and Culture Island of the Caribbean. |
