BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MEDIA workers and representatives from the Ministry of Culture attended a consultation in relation to creative and cultural provisions of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on Tuesday, November 13, 2012.
The meeting was held at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
In attendance were Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture Sharon Rattan, Director of Culture Creighton Pencheon and Research and Documentation Specialist Marlene Phillips.
Also present was an enterprising artiste called ‘Young Prince’.
Leading up to the meeting, Phillips informed the media that her Department was working in collaboration with St. Kitts-Nevis EPA Implementation Unit in the Ministry of International Trade, Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs to sensitise practitioners in the Creative/Cultural Industry about the benefits and opportunities provided by the Cultural Provisions in the EPA.
Project and Regional Expert attached to the Center for Development of Enterprise (CDE), Marie Louise Norton-Murray (of Trinidad and Tobago) was the special guest at the meeting.
Coordinator of the EPA Implementation Unit in St. Kitts, Shelley Ross-Chaderton shared that the meeting was held to explain the work of the CDE, although cultural industry not a forte of the organisation.
She further disclosed that Norton-Murray was invited to explain how the organisation helps the private sector and for the consultation attendees to hear how CDE could possibly assist in forming a foundation that could help.
Sharing her knowledge of trade relations in the region, Ross-Chaderton informed that in 1992 CARIFORUM (CARICOM-Caribbean Community) and the Dominican Republic were established and had comprised the group that signed the EPA.
“Now, having signed the Conotou Agreement in 2000, the EU (European Union) realised that the trade provisions in the Conotou, they considered them ineffective and they thought it best it negotiate a trade agreement with CARICOM group of states, actually the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific), which really were all former colonies of Europe.
“So the trade provisions in the Conotou Agreement were replaced by the EPA and the EPA is not just a trade agreement; it’s beyond. It includes services and sales and investments. Previously, what we had was a one way trade where we send our goods to Europe,” she stated.
Ross-Chaderton pointed out that the most important feature of the EPA is that it is now reciprocal in the sense that “they can send goods to us and we send, instead of just one way trade”.
She went on to talk about an important dimension of the agreement, which is an extensive developmental package. She indicated that besides the developmental package, there is also an incorporated cultural protocol which extends to all creative industries.
Sculptors , artistes, entertainers and musicians were among those listed in the creative industry.
Ross Chaderton explained that people in these industries could work in the EU for six months but that it has to be under contract.
She continued: “Let’s say you are a performer, you can’t go and sell your services to the public. It has to be done under a contract with a recognised body in the EU…the 27 EU member states”.
She however noted that of those 27 member states, Austria and Germany have reservations.
Ross-Chaderton informed that one requirement for persons working in the creative industries is that an individual must be a part of a body St. Kitts-Nevis in order to be marketed in the EU.
Meanwhile, Norton-Murray shared that CDE is a joint institute of the EU and the ACP group of states within the framework of the Contou Agreement.
She said the mandate of CDE is to support the private sector and private sector development.
Addressing the monetary operations, the CDE official said, “We receive an annual budget from the European Development Fund. The annual is 18M Euros but that is for 78 countries. Within the region, our budget at present is about 1.4M Euros. That budget can be extended by working with special funds dedicated for national priorities.”
She mentioned one of the ways that CDE could help.
“For example, say the government had a particular strategy to support cultural industries and they wanted to dedicate a certain amount of funds to that strategy, the EU can corporate with the government agency. We will put experts, hire experts in the cultural industries to work with the government agency or fund to assist in the implementing the programme so we can expand on what work they are doing. That’s one way we can help.”
As revealed by Norton-Murray, prior to 2008, most of the CDE’s operations were centralised in Brussels.
“But since 2008, we have set up a number of regional offices which are now fully established”, she added.
She also informed that the Caribbean region’s office is located in the Dominican Republic and that it supports programmes and projects of all 15 CARIFORUM states.
“Generally,” she explained, “CDE’s funds are not for the purchase of equipment or for building or raw materials etc., but rather for expertise advise and related cause such as workshop, training material and travel related that expertise advise.”
