Kingston, 13 March 2020 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced the closure of cultural and sport facilities, including museums, galleries, and stadia run by the government.

Minister Grange says the closures — with effect from Saturday, 14 March 2020 — are in keeping with the Government’s strategy to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Jamaica and to minimise the potential health impact on the country.

The facilities that will be closed to the public are:

• African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank;
• Alexander Bustamante boyhood home at Blenheim, Hanover 
• Bustamante Museum at Tucker Avenue, St Andrew;
• Paul Bogle Memorial Park at Stony Gut, St Thomas;
• Liberty Hall: The Legacy of Marcus Garvey;
• IOJ Junior Centres; 
• Simón Bolívar Cultural Centre;
• Fort Charles;
• National Gallery of Jamaica;
• Seville Heritage Park;
• National Gallery West;
• Natural History Museum of Jamaica;
• National Museum Jamaica; 
• Jamaica Music Museum;
• National Library of Jamaica;
• National Stadium;
• National Aquatics Centre;
• and Trelawny Stadium

The facilities will remain closed to the public until further notice, however staff will report to work as normal.

Minister Grange says “the closure of the facilities is a necessary precaution in the national effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to keep people safe.”

She has encouraged members of the cultural, sport and entertainment sectors to take all necessary precautions and follow the guidance of the health authorities.

END

Statement by the Minister of Culture, Gender,
Entertainment and Sport
the Honourable Olivia Grange, CD, MP
Jamaica’s Policy Statement to the 40th Session of the
UNESCO General Conference
Paris, France
15 November 2019

Salutations

President of the General Conference
Chairman of the Executive Board
Director General

Last year, on November 29, the Reggae Music of Jamaica was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and we all celebrated by singing Bob Marley’s “One Love”.

Previously, Kingston, our capital city, was declared a Creative City Of Music by UNESCO, and our Blue and John Crow Mountains were designated a world heritage site.

Our country understands the value of UNESCO in recognising and protecting cultural heritage. These achievements are also in keeping with Jamaica’s recognition of its creative economy. For this reason, Jamaica is taking concrete steps to establish a National Culture and Creative Industries Council “Jamaica Creative” to realise the objectives of the 2005 Convention on the protection and promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

In the field of Education, we are moving solidly to support the Global Convention on the Mobility of Higher Education and Qualification. Jamaica is committed to the promotion of equity, and has pursued the realisation of SDG 4, through the Prior Learning and Assessment Recognition, and other forward looking initiatives. We have prioritised TVET and STEM integration and are making important strides in reducing gender gaps in educational institutions and transforming the early childhood sector.

As we look to the future, the views and development of our young people are important. Jamaica is pleased to have two vibrant representatives in attendance at the UNESCO Youth Forum.
In relation to Science, we have embraced the urgency which must be attached to the pursuit of Open Science, of women and girls in Science, and in managing the digital transformation. In February 2020, Jamaica and the UNESCO Caribbean Cluster Office will be hosting a Conference on Artificial Intelligence for the Caribbean, and will also explore its use to promote integrity in Sport which we call ‘physical culture’. We are convinced of the significant contribution which UNESCO can make to setting global standards in this area.

We also attach great significance to media and information literacy, as responsible media and technology play a vital role in promoting democratic values and fostering inclusive societies. Digital literacy is critical in preparing our people for the far-reaching disruptions, displacement and opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution. This is particularly relevant to SIDS, given our low levels of GDP and labour intensive economies, which are most susceptible to the negative consequences of automation in the short to medium term.

UNESCO’s approval of the declaration of October 24 to 31, as Global Media and Information Literacy Week, would give these important issues the global attention which they need and deserve. We look forward to the support of Member States.

Mr. President, today, Jamaica re-affirms its commitment to pursue the Organisation’s goals and aspirations at the country level.

Today, we are further challenging UNESCO to intensify the mutually reinforcing relationship with its membership, given the unique role assigned to it as a force for good - in national and global development. UNESCO is an organisation which is best placed to demonstrate multilateralism at work.

Jamaica joins other Small Island Developing States in continuing to press for UNESCO to advance a global priority plan towards SIDS imperatives, of which climate change is a critical component.

My delegation acknowledges the many successes of the UNESCO family, including the Regional Offices and National Commissions. We commend the Director General for her vision and for the work underway in the implementation of the strategic transformation to strengthen UNESCO’s capacity and effectiveness. While this is a work in progress, we declare that its success will only be assured, when all Member States are able to see themselves in the outcomes and impact.

One Love, One Heart, One Destiny!

Kingston, 12 November 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has been elected a Vice-President of the 40th Session of the UNESCO General Conference which is underway in Paris, France.

The General Conference, which happens every two years, brings together the 193 members of UNESCO to decide on the policies and work of the organisation.

Minister Grange was elected Vice-President in her absence. She will leave Jamaica on Wednesday (tomorrow) to participate in the General Conference as well as the meeting of the powerful UNESCO Executive Board.

The 58-member Executive Board is responsible for the overall management of UNESCO. Jamaica is serving the Board on a 4-year term, which will end in 2021.

Minister Grange said she was “delighted by the news” of her election as Vice President for the General Conference, adding that it is another opportunity “to serve and to ensure that the voices of countries from the Caribbean and Latin America as well as Small Island Developing States are heard and that we all benefit from UNESCO’s work.”

Minister Grange’s election follows her just-concluded successful two-year term as Chair of the UNESCO Committee on Conventions and Recommendations; and her recent re-election as Vice Chair of the Culture Committee of the Organisation of American States.

While in Paris, Minister Grange will also serve as a panellist at the High-Level Meeting of Ministers of Culture.

Minister Grange will return to the island on 21 November 2019.

END

Kingston, 18 October 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says Jamaica will benefit from the staging of Kanye West’s ‘Sunday Service’ concert in Kingston this evening.

The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport has been working closely with a number of government entities to facilitate the staging of the concert at Emancipation Park in New Kingston, beginning at 7pm.

Addressing a number of issues surrounding the staging of the concert, Minister Grange said:

“It is at no cost to the Jamaican government or the Ministry and Jamaica is benefitting.

Kanye West is paying for absolutely everything… and will be spending over one million US dollars for this event in Jamaica. They’ve covered their own air charter [and] local hotel accommodation. They’re spending a substantial amount on technical services (to be provided by local suppliers), a large number of Jamaicans will be hired to treat with the production. And the facilities that we are providing that are to be paid for will be covered by Kanye West.”

Minister Grange is also reassuring the public that steps are being taken by the Jamaica Constabulary Force to address traffic concerns.

The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation is making its four parking lots on St Lucia Avenue available to patrons free of cost.

Parking will also be available at the National Housing Trust, the Golf Academy, and at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre from where a bus shuttle service will begin at 6 o’clock.

Minister Grange is thanking the public for their patience and understanding.

“I really want to reassure the public that we are doing everything humanly possible to minimise any inconvenience they may experience.

Jamaica is trending at this time across the world because of Kanye West Sunday Service being held in Kingston. Jamaica is open for business. They reached out based on the recommendation of a Jamaican who works with Kanye West. The best we could do is to facilitate them in making the arrangements.

I want to thank the public for their consideration and patience.

Let us welcome another group of visitors to our country because we are open for business.”

The concert will be streamed live at www.sundayservice.com.

END

Kingston, 18 September 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, is underscoring government policy, in keeping with the Jamaican Constitution, which does not permit discrimination on the basis of religious or cultural practices or race.

Accordingly, Minister Grange said, it is not acceptable for any person in Jamaica to be discriminated against, or denied services on the basis of how he/she wears his/her hair.

Minister Grange said her Ministry would work with government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to ensure that guidance issued on grooming and appropriate appearance for work or school does not target specific hair textures and hair styles, race or religion.

END

Kingston, 30 August 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has unveiled a mural exhibition in tribute to the Windrush Generation.

The exhibition is mounted at various locations in the arrival and departure sections at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.

The unveiling was witnessed by the British High Commissioner to Jamaica, His Excellency Asif Ahmad.

Minister Grange said the exhibition was a tribute to the “resilience and indomitable spirit” of a generation of Jamaicans who responded to the invitation of post-Second World War Britain for labourers to help restore services and communities.

Minister Grange said:
“From the climatic shock of cold, rainy England to the prejudices and discomforts of settling in a new and often unwelcoming environment to the reality of being alone in a strange land of reluctant neighbours, our people experienced every challenge in the book of ignorance and racism.

Yet, they were undaunted. Their fearless, feisty Jamaican heritage was enough buffer against the many challenges they confronted… Armed with their Jamaican culture, heritage and traditions, they determined to make the best for themselves and their families… Through their indomitable spirit and resilience, they developed what has become the formidable Jamaican Diaspora of the United Kingdom.”

The Windrush Mural project is a collaboration between the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and the British Council. It features pieces by Jamaican and British artists: Honey Williams, Rosemarie Chung, Sheldon Blake, Tiana Anglin, Kirk Cockburn and Jamila Cooper.

The British High Commissioner said that “when the murals were commissioned as a joint endeavour between British and Jamaican artists, the idea was to capture the complex associations and attributes of Windrush. Hopes and dreams of travellers, immigrations rules which impacted the lives of families, the challenges migrants face finding work and vibrant community dynamics are just some thoughts that now find expression in the Windrush Murals.”

Minister Grange said it was a deliberate move to exhibit the Windrush Murals first at the Norman Manley International Airport as it “signifies the changing form of transport, from sea to air, for migrants,” as well as promotes the airport as an artistic and cultural space.

The Windrush Mural exhibition will be mounted at the airport for three months. Then it will move to Orange Park in Downtown, Kingston and become the entrance to the National Gallery of Jamaica for six months. Following that, the exhibition will travel across Jamaica.

Minister Grange says the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and the British Council are working on other projects to memorialise aspects of the shared history of Jamaica and the United Kingdom.

END

Kingston, 7 August 2019 (JIS):  Two of the nation’s stalwarts, Alpharita Constantia “Rita” Marley, OD, and entertainer, Mr. Miguel Orlando Collins, also known as Sizzla Kalonji, have been honoured for their contribution to the development of the music industry by the Government of Jamaica.

Both were awarded with Reggae Icon Awards during the Jamaica 57 Independence Grand Gala, held at the National Stadium, on Tuesday (August 6).

Their awards were presented by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness; Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, and the President of the Republic of Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta.

Prime Minister Holness said that Rita, widow of one of Jamaica’s pioneers of reggae, Bob Marley, was chosen for this award because of her contribution to the development of the foundation of reggae music, while Sizzla was awarded because he is one musician who has built on that foundation with positive music.

Sizzla, who gave the response on behalf of both awardees, said he is grateful to the Government and the nation, by extension, to recognise him for his contribution to nation building.

“I’m most honoured and most thankful in receiving such an award from such [a] noble nation, people and beautiful Government in the Western Hemisphere. It comes as a bit of [a] surprise,” Sizzla said.

Sizzla was born on April 17, 1976. He was raised in August Town where he still resides. He emerged on the reggae and dancehall scene in the late 1990s with hit singles, such as ‘Black Woman and Child’, ‘Thank you, Mama’, ‘Dry Cry’, ‘Just one of those days’ and ‘Solid as a rock’.

He is one of the most commercially and critically successful contemporary reggae artistes, noted for his high number of releases. As of 2018, Sizzla has released 56 albums.

Outside of the music industry, Sizzla has contributed to community development by establishing the Sizzla Youth Foundation which assists youth in August Town in overcoming their struggles and providing a haven from violence.

He also established ‘Judgment Yard’, by turning his August Town home into a Community Centre where he welcomes the community and organises community activities.

Rita was chosen for her award not only because she is the matriarch of the Marley family, but also because she has been a leading member of the Jamaican music industry from her early days as a singer, to her collaboration with Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths who formed the ‘I Threes’ – the former backing vocal group for Bob Marley and the Wailers.

She was also chosen because she has pioneered the development of reggae as a musical form and for contributing to its growth and popularity in Europe, Africa and around the world.

Rita, who was born in Cuba to Leroy Anderson and Cynthia Jarrett, grew up in Greenwich Town, Kingston. Her musical career began in the 1960s. In 1986, she converted Bob Marley’s home into the Bob Marley Museum, which is currently the number one tourist destination in Kingston. She is also the Founder and Chairperson of the Robert Marley Foundation and the Bob Marley Group of Companies.

In 1996, Rita was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican Government. In 2000, she created the Rita Marley Foundation, a non-profit organisation that works to alleviate poverty and hunger in Jamaica and other developing countries.

She received the Marcus Garvey Lifetime Award in 2010, and on August 3, 2013, she was made an Honorary Citizen of Ghana by the Ghanaian Government. In November 2015, she was awarded with an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree by the University of the West Indies.

On Tuesday, the Government also announced that Rita will be honoured with the fifth highest award in Jamaica, the Order of Jamaica (OJ), on Heroes Day in October.

END

Kingston, 16 August 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, is leading Jamaica’s delegation to CARIFESTA which begins on Friday (today) in Trinidad and Tobago.

CARIFESTA — the Caribbean Festival of the Arts — is the largest cultural and artistic event to be staged in the Caribbean.

Minister Grange says CARIFESTA presents an opportunity for Jamaican creatives to market their products and services.

“This year, Jamaica is sending one of the biggest delegations ever to CARIFESTA — 168 people including artisans, fashion designers, writers and publishers, dance companies, theatre groups, and gospel performer Kevin Downswell,” said Minister Grange.

The Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport has facilitated Jamaica’s participation in CARIFESTA 2019 through financial support of 73 performers in the delegation.

Minister Grange says it is important for the Ministry to help finance the delegation especially after the tremendous success of Jamaica’s delegation to the last CARIFESTA two years ago.

Minister Grange says:
“In 2017, Jamaica’s delegation to CARIFESTA in Barbados, which numbered approximately 50 members, benefitted tremendously from the business opportunities generated by their participation. I am pleased to demonstrate the full support of the Government again — as we did in 2017. We are the mecca of creativity and we are determined to monetise our creativity for larger income flows to practitioners, and facilitating the participation of Jamaican creatives in activities such as CARIFESTA helps us to achieve our objective.”
CARIFESTA XIV will be held from August 16 to 25 under the theme Connect, Share, Invest.

END

Kingston, 9 August 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says that Jamaica and Kenya have agreed to cooperate in the fields of sports, culture and heritage.

Minister Grange says the agreement was finalised during the recent State Visit of the President of Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta.

Minister Grange signed the Memorandum of Understanding formalising the cooperation agreement with the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and Heritage, Ambassador Amina Mohamed.

Under the MOU, Jamaica and Kenya have agreed to cooperate in the organising of major sporting events in track and field, water sports, football, cycling, cricket, netball, boxing, tennis, golf, martial arts, basketball, rugby and any other discipline that both countries may mutually decide upon.

Minister Grange said:
“Jamaica is the sprint capital of the world and Kenya has a great reputation of producing some of the finest long-distance runners that we have ever known. I believe there is much that we can share not only in track and field, but in other sporting disciplines as well. And so we look forward to exchanges of coaches, administrators and physical education teachers; welcoming Kenyan athletes for training here in Jamaica among other initiatives which will benefit both of our countries.”

Jamaica and Kenya have also agreed to collaborate on sports science, the promotion of sports for people with special needs, and the implementation of anti-doping policies, procedures and practices within the World Anti-Doping Agency system.

Regarding culture and heritage, the areas of cooperation will include collaboration between the National Archives of both countries with a focus on digitisation and modernisation of the entities; cultural exchange in the cultural and creative industries; cooperation between the national museums in the field of heritage research, protection, conservation and management as well as exchange of experts.

Minister Grange said: We would wish to see visits of cultural and creative practitioners including musicians, dancers, actors, theatre groups and visual artists. And so we encourage the participation of our cultural and creative practitioners in festivals in both countries with a view to enhancing the strong cultural links between Jamaica and Kenya.

END

Kingston, 5 August 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, is encouraging young women to “prepare themselves and enter the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen competition.”

According to Minister Grange, young women will “benefit tremendously” in the competition which provides an opportunity for young women to explore their rich culture and heritage.

Minister Grange said:
“Each year, through the competition, we highlight intelligent, articulate, well-informed, culturally aware, beautiful young ladies who are committed to national development. I’m very proud of the 13 young ladies from across the island who reached the finals as parish queens. They all did exceptionally well.

And the winner, Khamara, has been such an outstanding personality throughout the competition that she’s most deserving of victory.”

This year’s Festival Queen is Khamara Wright, a 23 year old Sous Chef from St Catherine.

She is the first national champion from the parish of St Catherine in 29 years.

END