Kingston, 1 November 2021 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has been nominated as a Vice President for the UNESCO General Conference scheduled to begin on November 9, 2021 in Paris, France.

Minister Grange’s nomination will be ratified at the beginning of the General Conference.

This important General Conference will, among other things, elect the Director General of UNESCO for the 2021-25 period as well as approve the organisation’s Programme and Budget for the next five years.

Minister Grange previously served as a Vice President at the UNESCO General Conference in 2019. 

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Kingston, 3 August 2021 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has welcomed the decision of the Commissioner of Police, Major General Antony Anderson, to order an investigation into claims that the police in Clarendon forcibly trimmed the locks of a young Rastafarian woman of the Nyabinghi Order.

Minister Grange:
“If the allegation is true, it would be a gross violation of the young woman’s human rights and a very serious disrespect to her sacred religious practice.

It is wrong for any person to forcibly cut the hair of another person, or discriminate or deny services because of how a person wears his/her hair.

I await the Commissioner’s investigation and the actions that will follow. The investigation must be quick and transparent; and if the allegations are proven, there must be sanctions against those responsible.

I agree with General Anderson’s statement that ‘any police officer who in 2021 would violate any person’s rights in this way would not be suitable to continue as a policeman/woman.’”

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Kingston, 29 March 2021 – The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution proclaiming October 24 to 31 each year as the Global Media and Information Literacy Week.

The idea for the declaration of the Global Media and Information Literacy Week within the United Nations system was first proposed by the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange.

The proposal was previously accepted by UNESCO’s Executive Board and by its Commission on Communication and Information.

Minister Grange said she was “very happy that the draft resolution was adopted by consensus” during a meeting of the UN General Assembly last week in New York.

100 members states co-sponsored the Global Media and Information Literacy Week resolution.

Minister Grange said the proclamation of the Global Media and Information Literacy Week was “quite timely,” adding that “it will help to address the spread and proliferation of disinformation and misinformation which we have seen, especially in regard to the covid-19 pandemic.”

Making her case at the UNESCO General Conference in 2019, Minister Grange argued that a global declaration and celebration of Media and Information Literacy Week would bring attention to and encourage action to ensure that citizens have the skills to critically analyse and use media and information.

The Minister also said:
“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 Small Island Developing States, 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.

The 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.”

Minister Grange expressed appreciation to the team at the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport as well as at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and to all the countries who supported the resolution.

The Secretary General of the Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO, Everton Hannam, said it is “really a significant achievement that Jamaica, a Small Island Developing State, has led the process for the proclamation of Global Media and Information Literacy Week. Congratulations to Minister Grange and the Jamaican delegation to UNESCO and the UN who made it a reality.”

Minister Grange said she looked forward to this year’s observation and the various plans and strategies to tackle the issue of disinformation and misinformation, as well as to empower all people and facilitate digital inclusion and global connectivity.

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Kingston, 25 January 2021 (JIS): Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Minister, the Honourable Olivia Grange, is calling for the urgent implementation of reparations for Africans and people of African descent affected by racial injustice.

She said that reparations should address the moral, economic, political and legal obligations of States in relation to past and present atrocities rooted in slavery and colonialism, such as racial discrimination, xenophobia and racial intolerance.

“Providing reparations for slavery and colonialism requires that States not only fulfil remedial obligations resulting from specific historical wrongful acts but also to transform contemporary structures of racial injustice, inequality, discrimination and subordination that are the product of the centuries of racial machinery built through slavery and colonialism,” she noted.

Minister Grange was addressing a webinar in commemoration of World Day for African and Afro-descendent Culture on Sunday (January 24) held under the theme ‘People of African Descent: Defamation, Race Relations, and Development Institutions’.

The webinar was hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports and the Jamaica National Council on Reparation.

Minister Grange said that a structural approach to providing reparations for slavery and colonialism under public international law and international human rights law is necessary.

She encouraged UNESCO to work even more closely with the National Council on Reparation and similar entities “to promote measures to address inherent imbalances in our historic and current social and economic landscape”.

Participants in the virtual event included State Minister in the Ministry, the Honourable Alando Terrelonge; Chair of the National Council on Reparation, Laleta Davis Mattis; Director and Representative of UNESCO, Sadia Sanchez-Vegas, among others.

Observed annually on January 24, World Day for African and Afro-descendant Culture celebrates the many vibrant cultures of the African continent and African diaspora around the world and promotes them as agents for sustainable development, dialogue and peace.

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Kingston, 9 September 2020 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says she is saddened by the passing of master percussionist and songwriter, Denver 'Feluke' Smith.

"It really breaks my heart. I am saddened that he lost the battle with cancer after fighting like a Trojan against the dreaded disease," said Miss Grange.

The percussionist, singer, composer, songwriter and producer, died in Mexico on September 5 at the age of 43.

Miss Grange said, “Feluke’s vast musical talent was on display as he worked with the likes of Jimmy Cliff, Luciano, Stephen Marley, Kymani Marley, Jah Cure and many more while finding time for his own recordings such as Past Tense and Loving Heart.

“I extend sincere condolences to his family and join with many others, including his colleagues in the music fraternity, in paying tribute to Denver Feluke Smith. He left us way too soon but his contribution to Jamaican music will always be with us.

“May his soul rest in peace.”

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Kingston, 25 January 2020 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has hailed volunteers across the island who are participating in the three-day national dengue clean up activity.

Minister Grange was speaking at the New Day Primary and Junior High School in St Andrew where the Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, officially launched the clean up campaign this morning (Saturday).

The Prime Minister observed and participated in the search for and destruction of mosquito breeding sites in the Grants Pen community. The Prime Minister also participated in the treatment of water containing mosquito larvae, and covered water storage container with nets.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Honourable Christopher Tufton; the Opposition Spokesman on Health, Dr Morais Guy (who represented the Leader of the Opposition); Member of Parliament for North East St Andrew, the Honourable Delroy Chuck; Deputy Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Winston Ennis; and Minister Grange.

Minister Grange thanked volunteers who worked on Friday — the first day of the national clean up — for their effort towards protecting schools and business places across the island against the mosquitoes that spread dengue.

Minister Grange, who is leading the coordination of the national clean up in collaboration with Minister Tufton, as well as the Minister of Local Government and Community Development, the Honourable Desmond McKenzie said the level of participation in the clean up activity shows that more Jamaicans are beginning to understand that “dengue is a serious disease can affect every single one of us.”

Minister Grange said:

“The mosquitoes that spread dengue do not care who we are or where we come from, so it means that each one of us must join the effort to find and destroy the mosquitoes and their breeding sites.”

The national clean up — from January 24 to 26 — is being held under the theme: Mosquitoes wanted dead, not alive!

Minister Grange said the activities over the three days “must be treated as a launch because the fight against mosquitoes will continue. We have made the decision to carry the theme through to Labour Day. And so, I’m asking everyone to continue to search for the breeding sites and to kill the mosquitoes.”

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Kingston, 23 January 2020 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has said that she’s satisfied with the preparatory works for the three-day national dengue clean up which begins on Friday.

Minister Grange — who is leading the coordination of the dengue clean up through the National Labour Day Secretariat — said:

“The preparations have gone well and I anticipate that we will all work in our homes, communities, schools and work places to find and destroy mosquito breeding sites.

“Dengue is a serious disease that has the potential to affect every constituency, every community, every school, every home and every person. Therefore, it is critical that all us — each member of parliament, each councillor, each person — get involved in efforts to find and destroy the mosquitoes that transmit dengue.

This national effort requires all of us to play a part.”

In keeping with the Labour Day format, national and parish projects have been established.

The national projects will be undertaken in the communities of Grants Pen and Rae Town in the corporate area. Minister Grange says those two communities are among 36 from across the country that have been listed as critical, meaning they are most in need of intervention to destroy mosquitoes and their breeding sites.

Minister Grange also announced parish projects, to be led by Municipal Corporations, as follows:

Westmoreland - Grange Hill
Hanover - Sandy Bay
St James - Salt Spring
Trelawny - Clarks Town
St Ann - Exchange
St Mary - Annotto Bay 
Portland - Manchioneal Town
St Thomas - Golden Valley
St Catherine - Buck Town near Gordon Pen
St Elizabeth - Junction
Manchester - Craig Head
Clarendon - Aenon Town 

Minister Grange said the work at national and parish projects will focus on finding and destroying mosquitoes and their breeding sites by removing bulky waste, bushing overgrown vegetation, and filling out depressed areas where mosquitoes are likely to breed.

The Minister said a “critical part of the intervention will be our interaction with residents where we will be encouraging and showing them how to cover drums and other water holding containers; and emptying or destroying containers, as necessary.”

The national clean up will take place over three days — January 24, 25 and 26 —under the theme: Mosquitoes wanted dead, not alive!

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Kingston, 18 December 2019 – “We will see her soon!” That was the assurance of the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, as she announced that the government had reached an agreement with the Miss World Organisation for the new title holder, Jamaica’s Toni-Ann Singh, to return home within a week of her victory.

Addressing the Post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday (today), Minister Grange said:

“I’ve been in discussion with Julia Morley, the Head of the Miss World Organisation and with Miss World herself. And I have been impressing upon them how eager we all are to see Toni-Ann and celebrate with her as she begins her reign. The initial response from Mrs Morley was that Miss World had a very tight schedule and it would be unlikely for us to see her before some time in January.

But after discussions, many late night discussions, we all agreed that Miss World should return home for a brief visit, organised by the Government of Jamaica this weekend.”

Miss World, Toni-Ann Singh, will arrive in the island on Friday afternoon at Norman Manley International Airport accompanied by Mrs Morley and other members of the Miss World Organisation. They will be received by Minister Grange; the Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Edmund Bartlett; His Worship the Mayor of Kingston, Senator Councillor Delroy Williams; His Worship the Mayor of Morant Bay Michael Hue; members of the Miss Jamaica World Organisation including Weston Haughton and Dahlia Harris, among other officials.

“It’s a miracle that we’ve been able to get such swift action, but Toni-Ann’s crowning as Miss World has been a story in itself, it’s been a Cinderella story, and it has been a miraculous story,” said Minister Grange.

Miss World’s visit will include courtesy calls on the Governor-General, Sir Patrick Allen; Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness (who will also host a reception in her honour); and the Leader of the Opposition, Dr Peter Phillips.

Minister Grange said the visit would also “include a series of public activities during which the people of Jamaica will be able to show her and surround her with love.” In this regard, the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport is hosting a cultural event at Emancipation Park on Saturday, 21 December beginning at 7pm at which “Toni-Ann will be able to perform.”

The Ministry is also organising a tour of Toni-Ann’s home parish of St Thomas on Sunday, 22 December beginning at 9am. The tour will begin in Yallahs with stops in Morant Bay, Arcadia and Bath, where the main celebratory activity will take place.

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Kingston, 2 December 2019 – UNESCO has accepted Jamaica’s proposal for the declaration of a Global Media and Information Literacy Week.

The proposal, presented by the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange has been accepted by UNESCO’s Executive Board and by its Commission on Communication and Information.

Minister Grange said a global declaration and celebration of Media and Information Literacy Week would bring attention to and encourage action to ensure that citizens have the skills to critically analyse and use media and information.

Making the case to UNESCO’s General Conference in Paris recently, Minister Grange said:
“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 Small Island Developing States, 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.

The 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.”

The resolution now needs the approval of the United Nations General Assembly which will meet again in 2020.

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Kingston, 11 November 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says Jamaica has been reaping the benefits of signing on to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression.

The Minister was speaking at the recent National Consultation on Cultural Diversity.

Minister Grange said:
“It is not always easy to connect the dots from treaties and conventions signed and ratified to actual evidence of improvements in the sector… [However], I can speak to developments in our Jamaican creative sector as a result of this Convention.”

According to Minister Grange, Jamaica played a leading role in the development of the Convention which promotes “two very significant tenets: the promotion of international cooperation in culture for development; and, even more importantly, the provision of preferential treatment to developing countries for the mobility of artists and cultural practitioners as well as movement of goods and services from developing to developed countries.”

Minister Grange said there has been an increase in the output of the creative sector as a result of the Convention, as “Jamaica partnered with promoters in Europe, Canada and the United States, particularly in 2008 when the European Union adopted the Convention in the development of its Protocol on Cultural Cooperation and in the liberalisation of preferential trade in culture for contractural services suppliers as part of the Economic Partnership Agreement.”

The Minister pointed to the number of Jamaican artistes, technicians and cultural academics participating in Reggae festivals in Europe as a successful outcome of formal engagement under the Convention. But she said “there is still scope to take greater advantage of the elements of the Convention.”

Minister Grange said the National Consultation and the three-day workshop, which followed, were part of the Ministry’s programme to encourage Jamaican creatives to engage more with developed countries as the government seeks to promote even greater prosperity for the sector.

Minister Grange also used the opportunity to update stakeholders on the government’s plan to review the Copyright Act to incorporate the WIPO-Administered Marrakech Treaty — which makes the production and international transfer of specially-adapted books for people with blindness or visual impairments easier — among other amendments.

The National Consultation titled ‘Reshaping Cultural Policies for the Promotion of Fundamental Freedoms and the Diversity of Cultural Expressions’ and the workshop received technical support from Ms Avril Joffe, a member of UNESCO’s Panel of Experts on Cultural Policy and Governance through the generous support of UNESCO and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The Consultation and workshop focused on reporting on Jamaica’s actions under the Convention and saw the participation of a wide cross-section of members of Jamaica’s Cultural and Creative Industries.

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