(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Two of the most innovative aspects of CARIFESTA were declared open on Monday in Paramaribo, Suriname with the Caribbean Market Place for the Arts and the Youth Village.
Three Hundred and forty (340) Surinamese youth and ten (10) Chinese Shaolin Monks stole the show at the Opening Ceremony of CARIFESTA XI in Paramaribo, Suriname on Friday night.
A special and unique celebration of Caribbean culture begins here and now with the Opening Ceremony of this Eleventh commemoration of CARIFESTA. We have come from all over the Caribbean Community and are joined by our family and many friends from Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, to experience this magical evening and the festivities that will unfold in the next 10 days in Suriname, our wonderful host country.
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(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is now a fait accompli. Suriname will host the 11th staging of the Caribbean premier festival of the creative and performing arts in 2013; this after their first successful hosting in 2003. |
(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Festival of Arts –CARIFESTA-has been revived and restructured and will be held in Trinidad and Tobago from Friday the 22 of September to Sunday the 1st of October 2006.
(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community is expected to join with the rest of the world in re-thinking the role of culture in the development prospects for its peoples. This subject will come into sharp focus next week, when the Regional Cultural Committee (RCC) meets at their sixteenth session in Georgetown, Guyana.
The Region should expect a breath of new life and meaning, to the Region's premiere cultural festival, CARIFESTA, when a special meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development [COHSOD] on Culture is convened next week.
The two-day meeting scheduled for June 2-3 will take place in Georgetown, Guyana where a strategic plan for the reorganisation of CARIFESTA drafted at the first meeting of the CARICOM Task Force on CARIFESTA in Trinidad in March will lead the discussions on the way forward.
Salutations:
The juncture of the celebration of CARIFESTA VIII here in Suriname, and the 30th Anniversary year of the Caribbean Community, is an ideal time for the CARICOM Secretariat and our private sector partner, TELESUR to join resources in exploring the rich potential of mind, technology and the impact on art and culture in the Caribbean. Certainly, there is no better time and no more suitable place for this event to be taking place.
Your Excellency the President of Suriname and Mrs Venetiaan-Vanenburg
The Vice-President of Suriname
Speaker of the National Assembly
Honourable Ministers
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished Artists
Participants
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my pleasure to bring you greetings on behalf of the Secretary-General and staff of the Caribbean Community Secretariat and indeed the entire CARICOM family.