Imagine, if you will, being approached by a visiting couple to Saint Lucia who is casually walking the streets of Castries. They’ve come in on a cruise ship and are set to depart in seven (7) hours or so. They’re looking for greeting cards made from locally produced paper. Would you know where to direct them?
Or what if you’re a student working on a project which requires that you provide information on the value of culture and arts to the economy of Saint Lucia. Would you know where to begin your research?
It is often lamented that the arts and cultural sectors receive little to no financial support from Government and the private sector. Could it be though that policy decisions cannot be made due to a lack of information from the sector and consequently these agencies are unable to make a case for funding?
With funding from UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity, through the Ministry of Tourism, Heritage and the Creative Industries, the Cultural Development Foundation has launched its Cultural Mapping Project, which should make some of these issues a thing of the past. This pilot project will be conducted in the seven (7) communities of Anse La Raye, Monchy, Gros Islet/ Castries, Soufriere, Laborie, Dennery North and Vieux Forth North.
Under the theme – “It’s OUR Culture – Let’s Map It 2 Tap it!”, Team Map It (TMI) will for the next three (3) months, gather information on cultural assets – musicians, artists, crafters, writers, shops, sites, events, as well as history, traditions and practices. Cultural Mapping is a systematic approach to identifying, recording and classifying a community’s cultural resources in order to describe and visualize them. It is an institutional strengthening project and has the outcome of protecting and promoting diversity of cultural expressions. Being armed with information collected, policy makers can produce sound arguments for the development of the sector.
The end product of the mapping will include an interactive online map where users can easily pinpoint places and people of cultural interest. For instance, locating all dancers or video production studios, private museum collections, resource collections, local goods retailers, among others. This will significantly increase the visibility of Saint Lucia’s arts, cultural and creative goods sector.
Communities should look out for Team Map It, who will be visiting them to gather information directly. However, the wider Saint Lucian community is invited to visit the Play Store on their android devices and download the app which will allow them direct access to the forms. The iPad / iPhone app will be ready in the coming weeks.
Users of the app will be able to track information as the database is populated and of course can share the app with their colleagues and friends in the arts, culture and creative industries to make sure they too are on the map!
Keep an eye and ear out for ads in the media and updates on our website www.cdfstlucia.org and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Cultural.Development.Foundation.