(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Nineteenth Meeting of the Regional Culture Committee (RCC) took time out Wednesday (23 April 2008) to observe a minute of silence in memory of one its cultural icons, Andy Palacio, who had served as the Deputy Administrator of the National Institute of Culture and History of Belize before his demise on January 19, 2008.

Assistant Secretary General for Human and Social Development in the Caribbean (CARICOM) Secretariat, Dr Edward Greene noted that Andy Palacio was a music icon, cultural activist and impassioned spokesperson for the Garifuna people of Central America.

“Andy Palacio was near and dear to us, as a member of this body of Directors of Culture,” Dr Greene remarked, “He was an active participant in the meetings and work programme of the RCC, and showcased his incredible talent as a musician and as an administrator through his involvement in CARIFESTA. He will be greatly missed by all of us,” he added.

On a more positive note, the Meeting also acknowledged stalwarts of CARIFESTA such as Mr Henk Tjon from Suriname and Culture advocate Carol Lawes, from Jamaica, as two resource persons with extensive institutional memory, for those meetings.

He further acknowledged Dr Carole Bishop as a “seasoned and experienced professional, who had returned to complement the staff of the Culture programme in the preparations for CARIFESTA X.”

Mr. Rawle Gibbons from Trinidad and Tobago; Mr. Antonio Rudder from Barbados who represented the artistic community on the Interim Festival Directorate; Mr. Lloyd Stanbury, cultural industries expert, entrepreneur and legal consultant to the Secretariat on CARIFESTA were also welcomed for the first time to the RCC Meeting.

Dr Greene also thanked the Directors of Culture for their tireless advocacy, stewardship and commitment to the development of Caribbean culture, noting that for the most part they worked with small budgets and limited human resources, while being tasked with the huge mandate of “preserving, developing or promoting our cultural traditions and institutions, our national and regional identity, and the very essence of ourselves.”

“In your capable hands as true custodians of our culture, we are confident that Caribbean culture can only increase in value, international recognition and impact,” he told the Directors.

The RCC is an advisory body to the Ministers of Culture in the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD). Its mandate is to advise on cultural policy and other matters related to cultural development in the Region.

The three-day meeting has a packed agenda that will give expression to recommendations on the development of an appropriate culture-trade regional policy framework as well as the establishment of a Regional Task Force on Cultural Industries that will further pave the way for the development of Caribbean Cultural industries.