Kingston, September 26 – The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, today announced that “the Prevention of Sexual Harassment draft Bill, with all the revisions recommended by Cabinet, is now ready to be signed off on”. 

“The Bill now reflects recommendations that came from Cabinet regarding the establishment of a Sexual Harassment Tribunal to hear all sexual harassment matters and the designation of field officers from the Bureau of Gender Affairs as authorised officers,” the Minister said.

She described the amendments to the draft Bill as “major achievements”.

Including in the draft are new proposals for hearing sexual harassment complaints. According to the Minister, the new proposals include a mechanism for complaints to be dealt with by the Bureau of Gender Affairs.

Minister Grange was speaking at a WMW Jamaica Forum, held under the theme, ‘The impact of Media Reporting on Violence against Women in the Caribbean’ at CARIMAC Annex 11, University of the West Indies, Mona on Wednesday.

 The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Bill seeks to protect women and men from unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and crude sexual behaviours that affect the quality of life by creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.

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Kingston, September 25 – The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, says the Government is taking the business of providing proper infrastructure for sports development very seriously. 

The Minister was speaking at the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the installation of an artificial turf at the football field at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence at the University of the West Indies on Tuesday. 

“We have put plans in place to improve and maintain our sport infrastructure in a major way. A submission to resurface and upgrade the Stadium East facilities is now at Cabinet for sign off. We have just completed the procurement process and have selected a consultant who will prepare the business plan for the National Stadium,” Minister Grange said. 

Minister Grange said that she was instructed by the Prime Minister to fast-track the redevelopment of the National Stadium and as such work will begin very soon in Stadium East and is to be completed before the start of the track season next year. 

“For the National Stadium, we are now going to be moving quickly into the design stage. Once it’s complete most of the stadium will be covered and we will have good anti-doping facilities, proper dressing rooms, gym and all the other equipment that you will find in a first world facility,”

Miss Grange said.

She also said that the Ministry is in discussion with partners for the redevelopment of Chedwin Park, Drax Hall and Prison Oval. 

“We are into a very exciting time for sports development.  Let us all work together to take sports in Jamaica to greater heights with opportunities for all,” the Minister said.

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Kingston, September 24 –  The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport has said the passing of the former Executive Chairman of FLOW Foundation and a Board Member of the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS), Mr. Errol Miller leaves her feeling deeply saddened. 

Minister Grange said, “When I heard today of Errol’s death I was overcome by a sense of great loss as he was someone who I admired very much and someone who contributed a lot in his professional life and as a volunteer.” 

She said Mr. Miller had served on the INSPORTS Board with distinction, “Ready in his quiet way to give advice which was always helpful to the organization.” 

“I was not expecting that Errol would leave us at this time and he will surely be missed by many. To his wife and the rest of his family, relatives, friends, and associates as well as to the FLOW Foundation, the Chairman and Board of INSPORTS, I express my sincere condolences.

May his soul rest in peace.”

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Kingston, September 18, 2018 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says that “Jamaica is strongly focused on establishing a National Register of Cultural Heritage Places and Objects through amendments to the Jamaica National Heritage Act.” 

Minister Grange was addressing the Opening Ceremony of a three-day workshop on Effective Heritage Inventories and National Registers organised by the Ministry in partnership with the Organisation of American States (OAS) at the Courtleigh Hotel and Suites on Tuesday (September 18). 

Minister Grange said that the workshop is an outcome of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the OAS to execute a project titled ‘Enhancing the Framework for the Development of a Heritage Economy in the Caribbean’. The project will train artisans and bring to the forefront the significant socio-economic potential of Jamaica’s cultural heritage. 

“The focus of this workshop is to review and enhance where they already exist, registers of heritage places. A National Register of Heritage Places is a list of sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical value,”

the Minister said. 

According to the Minister, the Registry will be developed through the use of ARCHES, an open-source, geospatially-enabled software platform for cultural heritage inventory and management.

“We hope that this workshop and the software that will be used across the Region will help to build capacity in our culture agencies and provide authentic, heritage experiences that are economically viable and sustainable. 

“Cultural heritage tourism is valued at US$1 billion globally and is said to be responsible for more than 75 million jobs in the Asia Pacific region alone,” Minister Grange said. 

The Culture Minister said also that another main component of the project is its focus on cultural communities such as the Maroons, Rastafari and Revivalists which contribute immensely to brand Jamaica. 

This project is being implemented in Barbados, Jamaica and The Bahamas.

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Kingston, September 14 - The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport announced today that the for the first time in the history of the INSPORTS Community Football and Netball Competitions, the winning netball team will get the same prize money of $500,000 as the winning football team. 

The announcement came as the Sport Minister launched the final round of the competitions at the National Stadium.

After saying that the time to make the prize money equal between netball and football in the INSPORTS Community competition, Miss Grange said that the prizes for second, third and fourth places would also be adjusted but she would announce those later. 

“The importance of grass roots sports, which is what the INSPORTS community netball and football competition is, cannot be over-emphasised.  It is sports for peace uniting communities regardless of political persuasion. 

“This is why I have invited Members of Parliament, Councillors and community leaders to encourage the INSPORTS netball and football teams in their constituencies, divisions and communities,” Miss Grange concluded.

The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, is assisted by President, Jamaica Football Federation, Michael Ricketts to conduct the official draw for the Final Round of the INSPORTS Football and Netball Community Competitions. The drawing took place at the National Stadium on Friday.

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The Honourable Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport has identified Reggae music as Jamaica’s most valuable yet undervalued export.

History was made in the Jamaican Parliament today, when the Senate approved the Bill shortly entitled, 'The National Heroes and other Freedom Fighters (Absolution from Criminal Liability in Respect of Specified Acts) Act, 2017'.

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced Recording Artiste Etana as the first female recipient of financial support from the Ministry’s Artiste Ambassador and Tour Support Programme.

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says social research, like scientific research, plays a critical role in the development of Jamaica.

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says through “small but giant steps”, Jamaica can be among the leaders in the world of golf.