By Ravin Singh

GUYANA has made no real progress in protecting and promoting cultural expressions, ministerial advisor on culture Ruel Johnson has said, but the government plans to address the deficiencies. Johnson will later this month make a presentation on Guyana’s performance at a preliminary review of countries which are signatories to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The official review is slated for next year since the quadrennial activity was last held in 2013.
The Convention was adopted by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO’s) General Conference on 20 October 2005, during the 33rd session which was held in Paris. Guyana became a signatory to the convention in December of 2009.
The main objective of the Convention is to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions. However, the Convention seeks to highlight the fact that cultural creativity has been placed upon all of humanity, and that aside from economical gains, creative diversity reaps plenty cultural and social advantages.
Further, the Convention details that states must also promote “openness to other cultures of the world”. Protective measures are also included in the Convention and international co-operation is encouraged in times of need. This Convention works to strengthen economic growth and cultural acceptance in the international community.
According to Johnson, the areas up for review later this month include: support for culture; sustainable systems of governance for culture; achievement of a balanced flow of goods and services and increased mobility of artists and cultural professionals; integration of culture in sustainable development frameworks; and the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedom.
When examined holistically, Johnson noted that Guyana has made little to no progress in most if not all of these areas, which goes counter to the conditions of the convention.
Highlighting one incident where the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedom were violated, the ministerial advisor reflected on the incident in Linden in 2012, when several persons were killed and more than two dozen injured during a protest against electricity rate hikes.
Dealing more specifically with the arts, he recalled another incident in 2013 when then PPP government had banned Calypso music from airwaves across the country. Then minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn went as far as to travel to the state-owned National Communications Network (NCN) “to find out what the hell was going on.”
“It was slanderous,” the minister said of the particular calypso, adding that “I hold it as my right to go to the station to intervene in an activity which I think impacted me as a citizen and also as a minister.”
Given these occurrences, and numerous others, which have stifled the development of culture and the arts, Johnson said that “I will be frank about the situation in Guyana at the preliminary review because I have to do a narrative.”
He explained that since there has not been much development in this regard, Guyana’s report will be largely aspirational, and will be supported with concrete expressions on the projects and programmes the Government intends to pursue, including the institute of creative arts and copyright legislation.
“So I will be laying out Government’s plan for developing policies relative to cultural development in Guyana,” he said.
Listing some of the impending implementations to develop the arts and culture industry, Johnson noted that the Department of Culture is currently looking at developing a registry for artistes, systems for concessions for people in the creative arts and marketing for them.
He explained too that efforts will be made to foster closer relations with CARICOM to ensure the free flow of goods and services offered by artistes in the region, which will also open markets for Guyana’s creative minds.
In addition, efforts are also being made to increase representation for Guyana at the Union of South American Nations, since according to him Guyana forms a nexus between South America and the Caribbean – given its geopolitical and historical orientation.