ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR CARIFESTA VIII

Twenty-eight countries will take part in one of the most diverse Caribbean Festival of the Arts ever, which gets underway in Paramaribo, Suriname on Sunday 24 August.

CARIFESTA VIII with its theme “Cultural Diversity” will bring together the Caribbean exponents of the performing, fine, visual, graphic and culinary arts for six days in Suriname. Also participating will be countries from Asia, Africa, Europe and South America, all with historic and cultural links to the Caribbean and Suriname in particular. These include Indonesia, Japan, India, Ghana, The Netherlands and Brazil.

The event gets underway with a gala two and a half hour opening ceremony at Independence Square, an open park overlooked by the Presidential Palace in the heart of Paramaribo. The Festival will be declared open by His Excellency the President of Suriname, Runaldo Venetiaan and Suriname’s Minister of Education and Community Development, the Hon. Walter Sandriman and CARICOM Secretary General Mr. Edwin Carrington will also address the opening ceremony.

Artistic Director of the Festival, Mr. Henk Tjon has promised an unforgettable experience for the ceremony, which will include aspects of all of Suriname’s broad ethnic mix with emphasis on the indigenous peoples. Mr. Tjon, a veteran of all seven previous festivals, said the opening will set the tone for the remainder of the week.

For the first time, there will be a Youth CARIFESTA as part of the event. The young people of the Caribbean will have their own site for activities including performances and symposia. The indigenous peoples have constructed a village in the Palmentuin (Palm Gardens) close to the Presidential Palace, which will be inhabited during the entire Festival.

There will be three symposia conducted during the week under the theme Cultural Connection: Linking the Past with the Future through the Creative Arts.   Caribbean Arts and Culture: Our Future, Our Strategy is the title of the symposium to be held at the Torarica Hotel. Mr. Alwin Bully of the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will be the moderator and presenters will include Dr. Keith Nurse of the University of the West Indies, Mr. Kendel Hippolyte cultural activist of Saint Lucia, Mr. Nilson Acosta, a cultural heritage specialist of Cuba, Mrs. Monique Nouh Chaia, a marketing specialist of Suriname and Ms. Jacqui Wiltshire-Forde, Director, Information and Communication at the CARICOM Secretariat.

The second part of that symposium will feature specialists in networking including Ms. Julie Morton of Trinidad and Tobago, Ms. Kit-Ling Tjon Pian Gai of Suriname, Mr. Vincent Kenswil of Suriname and Mr. Sydney Bartley of Jamaica. The moderator will be Ms. Arlette Godfried of Suriname.

The Youth Symposium entitled Vision of the Future will deal with such topics as HIV/AIDS, the position of Caribbean youth today, and the integration of art in the education system and the role of youth in CARIFESTA.

Mr. Henk Essed is the convenor of the indigenous peoples’ symposium, which is entitled In the Palace of the Spirit of the Rising Sun.