The Office of the Premier at the Government Headquarters in Brades recently held a stakeholders meeting to review the draft Policy for the island.
More than 25 persons gathered at the Montserrat Cultural Centre in Little Bay to discuss the various sections of the document including tourism, media & technology, self-worth and national pride, masquerades and economic development.
Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Premier, Beverly Mendes, says the comments and reviews on the documents as drafted will be compiled and shared with the committee to be included where necessary in the policy.
The process of creating a National cultural policy began in November 2011 with a public forum.
In July of this year, it was announced that Professor Sir Howard Fergus was leading the process with a team of key resource persons to include Dr. Clarice Barnes, Ms Ann-Marie Dewar, and Mr. Alric Taylor.
The group was charged with making an assessment of the state of Culture on Montserrat with the goal of formulating a National Cultural Policy that will set the framework for the development and planning of Culture for at least the next ten years.
A series of talk back sessions, radio call-in shows and interviews with members of the Diaspora were held to gather the thoughts of the community on culture and how elements can be preserved and what needs to be done to promote it.
The Office of the Premier is encouraging more people to read and comment on the draft cultural policy.
