The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is seeking to ensure that the region secures meaningful access to a €40 million European Union funding envelope for the cultural sector within the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States.
Hilary Brown, Programme Manager for Culture and Community Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, said the Caribbean has a strong interest in helping to shape how the resources under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Culture Programme are allocated, so that the region can benefit in a significant and equitable way.
Speaking ahead of a two-day technical meeting of ACP senior officials responsible for culture, Brown noted that several CARICOM cultural initiatives stand to benefit from the funding. These include implementation of CARICOM’s Regional Development Strategy for Culture, support for the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA), and expansion of the regional cultural fund launched with the Caribbean Development Bank.
Brown explained that access to financing remains one of the major challenges facing the cultural sector in the Caribbean. She said CARICOM Ministers of Culture, at their most recent meeting in Guyana, expressed strong interest in advancing a regional proposal to support priority cultural projects across the Community.
According to Brown, a number of important regional initiatives are either on hold or could be delivered more effectively with stronger financial backing. She emphasised that CARICOM is especially interested in a regional funding approach, arguing that there must be greater equity in how resources are distributed and accessed among the three ACP regions.
The technical meeting forms part of preparations for the Fifth Meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture, being held under the theme, Strengthening and Diversifying Partnerships for ACP Cultures. Brown described the gathering as an important opportunity for CARICOM to deepen cooperation with counterparts from Africa and the Pacific, while identifying new avenues for collaboration in culture and the creative industries.
She said discussions are focusing on proposals under the 11th EDF Culture Programme, including a declaration that will outline priority areas for cultural development going forward. The conclusions from the preparatory meeting are expected to be submitted to ACP Ministers of Culture for endorsement.
Brown also underscored the strategic importance of the ACP grouping to the Caribbean, noting that it provides a valuable framework for South-South cooperation. She said CARICOM views engagement in the ACP as vital to advancing sustainable development, strengthening policy coordination, and promoting the region’s shared interests in the global arena.
Also addressing the meeting, Leonard-Emile Ognimba, ACP Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Human Development, said the Fifth Meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture is taking place at a critical moment, as negotiations continue between the ACP Group and the European Union on a new post-2020 partnership agreement.
Ognimba said the ACP side has been advocating for culture to be recognised as a central pillar of endogenous and sustainable development, with a strong cultural dimension embedded in future cooperation strategies and policies. He added that the ongoing deliberations provide an important opportunity to review the status of negotiations and help further define the ACP Group’s collective position.
He also stressed that the ACP Group should use the occasion of the new declaration to reaffirm its commitment to addressing global challenges through international partnership, while recognising culture as an increasingly important driver of development.
For CARICOM, the meeting represents both a policy opportunity and a practical one: to strengthen regional cooperation, secure fairer access to development resources, and advance culture and the creative industries as integral components of Caribbean development.
