The newly appointed Board of Directors of the Cultural Development Foundation (CDF) was formally commissioned at an introductory meeting on Wednesday 9th September with the Hon. Minister of Culture and Creative Industries Fortuna Belrose.
Minister Belrose said the CDF’s mandate of Training and Development must be very clearly articulated and redound to the benefits of all established and more so aspiring artistes in every community of Saint Lucia. The Minister further went on to state that there must be more community outreach and a concerted and deliberate effort made to reach out to young artiste and youth organizations who must see the CDF as the Home of the Artistes.
Training and development must be at the cornerstone of the work of the CDF. Training must be sustainable and ultimately lead to certification, thereby creating a platform that will allow artists to monetize their goods and services and an understanding of the creatives industries sector within which they operate.
On the heels of the Board’s commissioning, the Chairperson and Directors organized a Board Retreat scheduled for Saturday 19th September, 2020. The objective of the retreat is to chart the way forward with a clear vision to achieve the mandate of the organization in light of new policy direction for the development of the Orange Economy. The CDF’s role in driving the creative economy cannot be over emphasized and it is in this vein the Board will deliberate on the CDF’s Mandate to arrive at policies aimed at achieving its objectives in a holistic way.
The Board of Directors under the Chairmanship of Jeannine Giraudy Mc Intyre will provide a clear policy direction to the management of the organization, who will in turn develop programming to drive the policy that will assist in achieving the mandate. The Board members are as follows: Louise Victor, Earlyca Frederick, Sonia Sifflet, Henry Amedee, Greenidge Moses, Richard Payne, Alleyne Regis and Suzette Lewis – Jean.
The Board of Directors is very excited about the future of the CDF and promises to work very closely and cohesively with the management team and staff of the organization to provide the necessary support and guidance in as much as is feasible to drive the policy.