Caribbean artistes unite to promote the music and entertainment industries under one Caribbean banner. A delegation heads to the United Kingdom to participate in the London Calling 2008, an international music business event to be held on June 19th an 20th. The CARICOM Secretariat has endorsed the initiative, which is the first of its kind.

In a statement released by the Secretariat on World Day for Cultural Diversity, Secretary-General Edwin Carrington said, “Culture is central to building a sense of community, of ensuring that the people of the Region feel connected and “intensely Caribbean,” and thereby forging a regional identity.”

Carrington further indicated, “several of our Member States have demonstrated their comparative advantage in the cultural industries in areas such as music, art, craft, the literary and culinary arts, fashion, festivals, theatre, film and cultural tourism. Many cultural manifestations in these areas are among those for which the Caribbean is known and respected internationally, and should therefore be the logical point of departure for building competitive export industries that are rooted in local talents and resources.”

Caribbean Event Director, Josanne Leonard said “it’s taken a herculean effort because we operate largely in silos even on our domestic fronts. In the past, individual countries and professionals have attended events like MIDEM, WOMEX and others but we have never united to brand a Caribbean presence. We need to fast forward the collaboration of our Ministries of Trade, Investment, Tourism, Technology and Planning to harness and support strategic regional and extra-regional marketing and promotional strategies”, according to a Newsday report.


Details of this event are posted on Facebook and Caribbean Arts and Cultural Events.

Despite the positive production outlook the FAO predicts that international rice trade will decrease. Traditional exporting countries like China, India, Egypt, Viet Nam have imposed restrictions to reduce the rice exported from these countries.

According to the FAO All Rice Price Index, international rice prices have increased by 20 percent since January 2008. The price increases reflect the limited supply available for sale due to the many restrictions imposed by major exporting countries. For prices to stabalise, favourable weather conditions must prevail in the coming months and governments relax rice export restrictions.


References
Food and Agriculture Orgainisation
http://www.fao.org

Rice Market Monitor
http://www.fao.org/es/ESC/en/15/70/highlight_71.htm

According to the article Mark argued “There are 1.4 million Indo-Trinidadians in Suriname, in Guyana and in Trinidad and Tobago…. they have appointed between six and nine judges to the CCJ, not one single Indian, not one Indian in that balance.”

Attempting to frame Mark’s comment in some context we considered in 2001 twelve States signed the accord establishing the Caribbean Community and the CARICOM Single Market & Economy.  They are  Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.  Notwithstanding, membership of the Community remains open to any State or Territory of the Caribbean Region.  Thus far, only two states, Barbados and Guyana have made the Caribbean Court of Justice its final court of appeal.

Currently, there are seven justices of the Caribbean Court of Justice, six of whom are male.  They are:

The Right Honorable Mr. Justice Michael de la Bastide – President (Trinidad & Tobago)

The Honorable Mr. Justice Rolston Nelson (Trinidad & Tobago)

The Honorable Mr. Justice Duke E. E. Pollard (Guyana)

The Honorable Mr. Justice Adrian Saunders (St. Vincent & the Grenadines)

The Honorable Madame Justice Desiree Bernard (Guyana)

The Honorable Mr. Justice David Hayton (United Kingdom)

The Honorable Mr. Justice Jacob Wit (Netherlands Antilles)

Without being dismissive, we explored whether there was any merit in the Senator’s argument from a regional perspective given the prominence of race issues in T & T’s politics.

According to the population data produced by the US Central Intelligence Agency - World Fact Book, the total population of the aforementioned States is an estimated 6,562,449.  Taken at its face value it would not be unreasonable to assume even with a 1:6 ratio, there should at least be one Indian sitting judge.  But, the question arises what about other ethnic group?  Moreover, is the gender composition reflective of the region?

Following is a break down of the ethnic composition for individual States produced by the US Central Intelligence Agency – World Fact Book as at April 15, 2008

Antigua & Barbuda

Population: 69,842
Ethnic composition: black 91%, mix 4.4%, white 1.7% other 2.9%

Bahamas

Population: 307,451
Ethnic composition: black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%

Barbados

Population: 281,968
Ethnic composition: black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%

Belize

Population: 301,270
Ethnic composition: mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7%

Dominica

Population: 72,514
Ethnic composition: black 86.8%, mixed 8.9%, Carib Ameridan 2.9%, white 0.8%, other 0.7%

Grenada

Population: 90,343
Ethnic composition: black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5%, traces of Arawak/Carak Amerindian

Guyana

Population: 770,794
Ethnic composition: East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese and mixed 7%

Jamaica

Population: 2,804,332
Ethnic composiion: black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other unknown 2.6%

Montserrat

Population: 9,638
Ethnic composition: black, white - unspecified

St. Kitts & Nevis

Population: 39,619
Ethnic composition: predominantly black, some British, Portuguese and Lebanese

Saint Lucia

Population: 172,884
Ethnic composition: black 82.5%, mixed 11.9%, East Indian 2.4%, other or unspecified 3.1%

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Population: 118,432
Ethnic composition: black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7%

Suriname

Population: 475,996
Ethnic composition: East Indian 37%, Creole (white and black) 31%, Javanese 18%, Maroons 10%, Amerindian 2%, Chinese 2%, white 1%

Trinidad and Tobago

Population: 1,047,366
Ethnic composition: Indian (South Asian) 40%, African 37.5%, mixed 20.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 0.8%

Should ethnicity or ethnic composition be a serious consideration for the selection of judges to the Caribbean Court of Justice?  We'll let our readers decide.