Mexico commits US$2m grant for Institute of Creative Arts in Guyana

Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 November 2015, 22:28 by GxMedia

FLASH BACK: Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo receives a gift from Mexican Ambassador Ivan Robero Sierra Medel

Mexico has committed to the Guyana Government a sum of US$2M to aid in the construction of an Institute of Creative Arts in Guyana.

This commitment was among several secured by Prime Minister and First Vice President Moses Nagamootoo on his recent visit to Mexico.

The Prime Minister made these statements during his address to the graduation exercise of the University of Guyana, Berbice campus over the weekend. He explained that the government is planning to set up a creative arts institute as it recognisesthe role the creative arts play in the overall development of a society.

“We must always look to our musicians, to our dancers, our sculptors, to all the people who are involved in the creative arts that they have a role to play in our country, to be able to reflect, to mirror and reproduce the soul of a proud Guyanese people,” the Prime Minister advised.

Meanwhile, the government has already started work to re-introduce music in schools.One hundred and forty-eight (148) primary school teachers from Regions 3, 4, and the Georgetown Education District, and eight Trainer of Trainers from Regions 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 were trained in music education in August this year.

In a recent interview with GINA, Minister within the Ministry of Education Nicolette Henry said that the teachers were equipped with the necessary skills to effectively deliver music programmes in primary schools.

“There is also the intention to integrate things like the literary arts, drama and music bigger than singing and that type of thing but steel pan music and so forth so there are a lot of plans to have a lot of initiatives integrated into the current curriculum.”

Guyana is in the process of developing a cultural policy to guide interventions for the advancement of this field, to this end, a cultural policy advisor was employed by the department of culture and consultations have begun on crafting this document.