by Karishma Matthew,
Government Information Service
Nine Dominicans were recognised on Wednesday, 27th July, 2011 for their contribution to the development of the island’s culture.
The awards were presented during the 2011 Golden Drum Awards ceremony which was held at the Arawak House of Culture and formed part of activities marking the 2011 Emancipation Celebrations which began on July 23rd.
The prestigious golden drum awards were bestowed on four deserving individuals. They were David Marcellin who was awarded for the preservation of Dominican oral traditions, Derrick ‘hunter’ St. Rose for the development and promotion of calypso, Marcel Cruickshank for his contribution in the field of sound engineering and Pauletta Prosper for the development and preservation of church and traditional music.
Meantime, veteran calypsonians Cecil ‘Checker’ Burnett and Davidson ‘Observer’ Victor received special recognition awards for the development and promotion of calypso.
Also receiving special recognition awards were Julian Lloyd Benjamin for his involvement in the performing arts, Miss Dominica 2010, Marcia Baptiste, for her success in carnival queen pageantry and Sakis for the preservation and promotion of carnival arts.
The Sisserou Singers, the Waitukubuli Dance Theatre Company, Petite Savanne Cultural Group, De Hunter and Paix Bouche Drummers performed at Wednesday night’s awards.
Chief Cultural Officer, Raymond Lawrence, congratulated the awardees on their outstanding contributions made to cultural development in Dominica.
He also urged them to continue the important work that they have been doing over the past years.
 Chief Cultural Officer,
Raymond Lawrence
“Our culture must continue to play a major role in Dominica’s development and to help build and strengthen our sense of national pride and identity. We have certainly moved to a new level of awareness and appreciation of our culture in Dominica which can be seen particularly during our festivals. This, I think, augers well for the future of our country and the future of our children and we have to continue this momentum of cultural awareness by creating more opportunities for our artists, craftsmen, painters, musicians, dancers, writers, et cetera to maximise their potential and in so doing, take our culture to yet another level.”
Lawrence said that culture plays an important role in the country’s socio economic development and so it is imperative that the nation recognizes the contribution of deserving individuals.
“In the process of taking culture to a next level in Dominica, it means that we will have to invest more in culture to establish more facilities and provide more equipment and instruments, et cetera. The social fabric of the country can be strengthened through the development of the skills and talents of our youth and also the continuous involvement of our cultural elders who play a great role in the passing on of knowledge and skills to the younger generation.”
Acting Honourable Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Kelver Darroux, took the opportunity to commend the national cultural council and the division of culture for awarding deserving individuals over the years.
He is pleased that recognition is being given for contributions to the development of various aspects of our culture that are often ignored or taken for granted.
“This is your special moment, one which no doubt, you will cherish forever. Let me also congratulate and thank the National Cultural Council for continuing to host these awards each year. The awards that you receive this evening are a tangible way of recognising and rewarding your efforts, dedication and commitment to develop particular art forms and culture as a whole. Your work in culture has been in many respects, a labour of love: your love and passion for the arts is that main driving force that dedication and commitment you have demonstrated all these years.
By bestowing these awards on you we say thank you for your contribution to the development of culture. I trust that these awardees and these awards will serve as a motivation for many others to continue the dedication and hard work in furtherance of the development of that which speaks so forcibly to the level of civilisation we have reached in our art forms and in our culture. The awardees here tonight by virtue of their contribution, have inspired many others.as they take centre stage here, we want to assure them of the deep appreciation of Government for their work and to remind them of the avenue Government has created through the Small Business Support Unit to deliver the assistance they may need to carry their work to higher levels and to open up opportunities for commercialisation of their products and their talent.”
 Acting Honourable Minister
of Culture, Youth and Sports,
Kelver Darroux
The Minister also stated that the Golden Drum Awards is quite appropriate in keeping with the spirit of emancipation.
“As you are aware, each year at this time, we observe the anniversary of emancipation from slavery. Dominica, although a small island developing state, can boast of being a country where democracy exists. Our citizens have the right of freedom of speech, expression, religion and the fundamental right to vote for a government of their choice. Our forefathers paved an avenue to ensure that, today, we can express ourselves in the various art forms. We can listen, with keen interest, to the melodies and lyrics of our calypsonians or dance to the beating of the lapaud kabwit on j’ouvert morning. Some of you may not know this, but the drums played an important role in the fight against slavery. The drums were used by our maroons to send information to each other and to signal the time of attack. The drums were, therefore, a force for liberation, a force for emancipation. The Golden Drum is, therefore, a nod to this noble tradition and quite appropriately, a top cultural award – a very prestigious cultural award in our context.”
Activities marking this year’s emancipation celebrations continued last Saturday with a hike from Penville to Capuchin. |
