On 30th June 2023, Trinidad and Tobago submitted its Quadrennial Periodic Report (QPR) for the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Our country was among twelve Parties to the 2005 Convention that submitted QPRs in 2023.
From June 2022 to June 2023, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts (MTCA) received technical assistance from UNESCO, as offered to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), towards elaborating Trinidad and Tobago’s QPR in a participatory manner for the 2005 Convention.
Throughout the technical assistance project the key activities that took place were:
- A Capacity Building Workshop for Trinidad and Tobago’s National Team facilitated by Dr. Deborah Hickling Gordon (UWI, Mona Campus) and Dr. Suzanne Burke (UWI, St. Augustine Campus) from 24th to 27th April 2023;
- A Multi-Stakeholder Consultation for public officials and civil society stakeholders on 28th April 2023 at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA);
- Followed by National Training Workshops for civil society stakeholders on the 2005 Convention and how organisations can contribute to the reporting process through completion of the CSO form, facilitated by Dr. Suzanne Burke, and National Coordinator, Ms. Daniella Carrington, on 25th May 2023.
Following these activities, a public call for submissions from civil society organisations (CSOs) was issued that invited them to complete the CSO form for consideration of their projects and programmes that support the goals of the 2005 Convention. Of those that responded to the call, three CSOs were selected to be included in Trinidad and Tobago’s QPR. They are the National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago with their Playwrights Workshop Trinbago, the Secondary Schools’ Drama Association with their Secondary Schools Drama Festival, and Pan Trinbago Inc. T.C. with their Social Prosperity Fund, Taste of Carnival and Pop Up Shop.
In the months of May and June 2023, Trinidad and Tobago’s National Team worked on drafting our country’s QPR with the continued support of Dr. Deborah Hickling Gordon, UNESCO’s Diversity of Cultural Expressions Entity and the UNESCO Office for the Caribbean, which included mentoring and technical assistance in navigating UNESCO’s online reporting platform.
Early in July 2023, the MTCA received notice from UNESCO that Trinidad and Tobago’s QPR was validated and would be featured the 2005 Convention’s website, with the individual measures outlined in the report available on the 2005 Convention’s Policy Monitoring Platform.
We at the MTCA are grateful for being a part of UNESCO’s technical assistance project for the 2005 Convention and seek to continue engaging the range of stakeholders involved in the Arts and Culture Sector of Trinidad and Tobago to keep a participatory process in policy development and monitoring.
Be sure to check out Trinidad and Tobago’s Quadrennial Periodic Report here.
