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Africans to visit for Reggae Month

Arrangements are now being finalised for the visit to Jamaica of a delegation of music project managers from West Africa.

According to entertainment lawyer Lloyd Stanbury, who is credited with initiating the process for the official proclamation of February as Reggae Month by the Governor General in 2008, this African visit will provide some opportunities for Reggae music practitioners to explore greater ties with the motherland.

The study tour will see the visitors participating in networking and learning opportunity meetings with representatives of local music industry associations and relevant government agencies, and will run from February 17 to 28. While in Jamaica, the members of the delegation will also attend some of the activities planned for the commemoration of Reggae Month 2011.

The objective is to provide the West Africans with some exposure to existing Jamaican music industry support mechanisms and institutions, as well as to provide networking opportunities with a view to facilitating future collaborations between Jamaican and West African music business operators. "It is my opinion that there are significant mutual benefits to be derived from meetings between members of the West African and French delegation and representatives of Jamaican music industry support organizations and agencies", said Stanbury.

This is a follow up to a series of music business training workshops that were presented in the Ivory Coast, Senegal and Burkina Faso in 2010. These workshops were organised by the French organisation, Culture et Developpement, as a part of a programme to support the development of cultural entrepreneurs in West Africa, and the implementation of music business incubators in the Ivory Coast, Senegal and Burkina Faso.

The study tour to Jamaica will be coordinated by Stanbury who is also president of the Jamaica Arts Development Foundation and will include a representative of Culture et Developpement from France as well as the music project managers from Senegal, the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.

Several organizations and agencies have been invited to meet with the group, including the Ministry of Culture, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), JAMPRO's Film Commission and Creative Industries Unit, Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), Jamaica Association of Composers Authors and Publishers (JACAP), Jamaica Music Society (JAMMS), Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA), the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, the Bob Marley Foundation, and the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association.

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