Thank you for inviting me to participate in this happy event in Caribbean development – one marking another step in making the Caribbean whole. As Secretary-General of CARIFORUM and thus Regional Authorising Officer of the European Union Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme, I am both proud and pleased at the monumental achievement by Mrs. Jeanette Allsopp. I also know that the Secretary-General of CARICOM would be among the major beneficiaries of it as CARICOM strengthens its link with both French and Spanish-speaking neighbouring countries as evidenced by the entry of Haiti into CARICOM and the spate of Trade and Economic Agreements with Venezuela, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Cuba and Costa Rica. This work can prove to be invaluable to the future development of the Region.
At the launch of her husband’s, Dr. Richard Allsopp’s dictionary of Caribbean English usage I was moved to remark that “my very first and most profound sentiments is to say to Dr. Allsopp and his colleague in this monumental task, his wife Jeannette, well done thou good and faithful servants of the Caribbean people. Heartiest congratulations. Yours has certainly been a lifetime labour of love for our Caribbean.”
I also told the couple then, their summa magnum opus was perhaps yet to come and expressed the hope that that work could be expected in under 20 years. Tonight we are gathered here as witnesses to the fact that the journey continues and the next installment is here in a mere seven years!
My task tonight, believe it or not, is not so much to praise Jeanette Allsopp, but moreso to put the words in some sort of context in our regional cultural development.
The subject of culture, and particularly Caribbean culture, has assumed increasing significance in this current era of globalisation and international trade liberalisation. Developments in information and telecommunications technology and the increasingly free circulation of people between and among countries have served to place emphasis and put focus on culture.
The formal policy of CARIFORUM is expressed in its desire to utilise culture as a mechanism to promote regional cooperation and integration. That policy recognises that opportunities for the use of culture in the integration process cannot be realised without the creation of an enabling environment. The policy incorporates decisions made on approaches to cultural development, activities and policies at the wider Caribbean and Latin American level and attempts to address UNESCO guidelines and decisions of Ministers of Culture of the Organisation of American States (OAS).
Within that context, CARIFORUM Governments have adopted policies which address the preservation, promotion and development of culture. That policy includes concepts of cross-cultural fertilisation through the interchange and the development of cultural industries as a means of bridging the gap between cultural policies and employment, income and revenue generation.
Pursuit of the formal CARIFORUM policies takes into account the fact that the CARIFORUM Region covers an area of hundreds of thousands of square miles with hundreds of islands scattered in every direction, with some CARIFORUM States geographically located in South and Central America and with some other states sharing the same island mass. The regional policy also recognises the Region’s turbulent colonial past which has resulted in a rich and colourful history and the composition of the present population, representing many of the world’s races and nations. The policy, in addition, highlights the significance of the Region’s indigenous peoples as an important and influencing component of the Region’s culture.
It is clear that its colourful history, the diversity of its people and its range of experiences has led to the emergence, over time, of a uniquely Caribbean way-of-life. That uniqueness and diversity is forever present in the food, drink, music, religion, art and other forms of Caribbean cultural expressions. In fact, the Region has enriched world culture through, among others, its achievements in the West Indies cricket team, reggae and calypso music and steelpan, the birth of Rastafari, the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) and Carnival.
The Caribbean Region is also blessed with language diversity. Four European languages and at least two indigenous languages and a number of dialects are spoken. That situation, while itself adding to the cultural diversity of the Region, serves to constrain cultural integration as a consequence of limited communication due to language barriers.
Despite the richness of its history, experiences and culture, vast gaps continue to restrict and constraint development in the Caribbean. The richness to be potentially derived from cross-cultural fertilisation and/or interchange has not been fully realised. Caribbean people are, to a certain extent, still ignorant of their own and each other’s lifestyles and cultures. At the same time, insufficient effort is made to ensure that young Caribbean people are given the opportunity to learn enough about the Caribbean. In fact, although Caribbean literature, history and geography are formally taught, it is often difficult to locate such subjects in a sectorial context. In addition, even where civics forms part of the formal syllabus, the teaching and curricula, are in most cases limited to local or national levels. The situation is further compounded by the high degree of cultural penetration through modern information and communications technology while regional information and cultural exchanges are limited.
It is within the cultural policies and frame described that the CARIFORUM Cultural Centres Programme under the Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme of the 7th European Development Fund was designed and implemented.
The overall objective of the programme was to promote integration, CARIFORUM cultural identities and intercultural exchanges by providing for the sustained development of national cultures and sub-cultures and by encouraging intra-CARIFORUM cultural communication. The specific purpose of the project was to establish three cultural centres, in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, as a first phase in the creation of a network of CARIFORUM Cultural Centres which would pursue the overall objective set for the programme.
The anticipated results through implementation of the programme included:
1. The Establishment of three Cultural Centres
Each centre would implement and coordinate certain specific activities on behalf of the Region.
2. Training of Cultural Administrators
3. Increased Levels of Youth and Other Exchanges
4. Training of Archivists in Computer Technology
5. Training of Museum Workers in Computer Technology
6. Standardisation of Libraries and Mediatheques
7. Development of National and Regional Cultural Information Systems
8. Mounting of Regional Exhibitions
9. Development of a Regional Historical and Cultural Review
10. Establishment of a Fund for the Support of Concerts, Recitals, Visual and Performing Arts and other Cultural Activities
11. Establishment of a Fund for the Support of Cultural Facilities.
12. Development of a Lexicography of Caribbean Language Usage.
The European Union, through the European Development Fund, provided Euro 1,965,000 for implementation of the programme. Caribbean Governments and the private sector were supposed to have contributed Euro 535,000 in counterpart resources.
A recent evaluation of the programme has pointed to some successes and a number of failures. One of the major weaknesses identified in the implementation of the programme relate to the absence of financial ownership of the programme, evidenced by low levels of counterpart financing and overall failure to develop long-term sustainability. Among the success stories highlighted by the evaluation of the programme were the continued publication of the CARIFORUM Cultural Review in the four regional languages in the Dominican Republic, the Establishment of a CARIFORUM Cultural Trust Fund in Jamaica and the publication of the Caribbean Multi-Lingual Dictionary by the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.
Strange, as it may sound, the Multi-Lingual Lexicography originally formed part of the mandate of the Cultural Centre in Trinidad and Tobago. Wiser heads eventually prevailed and that sub-component of the overall programme was reallocated to the Cave Hill Campus for implementation. The deciding factor in that eventual decision was the seminal work of Dr. Richard Allsopp on the Lexicography of Caribbean English Usage. The fact that Mrs. Jeanette Allsopp was his wife and was located at Cave Hill and was more than capable and possessed the relevant experience and knowledge further contributed to that reallocation decision.
The output delivered by Mrs. Jeanette Allsopp under extremely trying circumstances and conditions can only be described as magnificent and heroic. The publication of the Caribbean Multi-Lingual Lexicography is an important and extremely significant point in the evolution of Caribbean Cultural Cooperation. It provides a landmark by which other regional cultural cooperation activities and programmes will be judged in the future. It demonstrates what we as a Caribbean people can do, even under adverse circumstances, once we select the right persons and provide them with the minimum required support.
Mrs. Allsopp’s work also points however to a basic Caribbean weakness, i.e. external dependence. While we in CARIFORUM appreciate the contribution of the European Union to this particular cultural endeavour, many of us would have felt a greater level of satisfaction if such an exercise were financed by our Governments and people collectively. Too often do we, as a people, hesitate to support what are apparently, non- revenue generating activities despite their social, historical and cultural significance. Mrs. Allsopp’s work should serve to point us in the right direction.
Today, I therefore feel a sense of disappointment as a Caribbean person and as Secretary-General of CARIFORUM and CARICOM. I feel vindicated in having pursued with the European Commission, support for Caribbean Culture from the European Union. I believe that a people cannot survive, develop or prosper without the preservation, promotion and celebration of culture. I believe that, as a people, we need to have some grounding. CARIFESTA which will soon be held in Suriname will provide us with an avenue for more groundings, promotion and celebration.
To Mrs. Allsopp, her team, UWI Cave Hill and the European Commission, I say, a profound thanks and my Rastafarian brethren would say, NUFF RESPECT AND RESPECT DUE.
Thank you.
