$800.00 stipend for panmen in 2012 panorama

newsday.co.tt
$800 stipend for panmen

Thursday, December 15 2011

Panmen participating in the 2012 Panorama preliminaries will receive an $800 stipend approved by Cabinet for the last Carnival season.

Pan Trinbago secretary, Richard Forteau said members were told they would be getting the $800 stipend on Tuesday at an extraordinary General Meeting held at the Communication Workers’ Union hall, Henry Street, Port- of-Spain.

Forteau said that paying each panman $200 — to make up the previous $1,000 stipend — cost Pan Trinbago almost $1.6 million — monies representing a large percentage of that collected at the gates during Panorama.

“We are trying to operate without rancour. The country is coming out of a turbulent time and heading into the Christmas and Carnival season, we think the right thing to do as a responsible organisation is not to get into any fight about this.

“However, Pan Trinbago reserves the right to represent pan players when the time for it arises. When the economy improves, we may ask the Government to put back the $200 and ask for more money for our pan players,” he said.

Last year, Government reduced the stipend from $1,000 to $800. Pan Trinbago threatened to boycott Panorama 2011 but eventually resolved to pay each of the 7,600 panmen participating in the competition the extra $200 to make up the original $1,000.

Also discussed at Tuesday’s meeting was the new judging scheme for the Single Pan category of the Panorama competition. From next year, one panel of judges would visit all single pan bands, these bands would qualify for the semi-finals based on their scores, rather than the quota system.

Forteau also said the Arts and Multiculturalism Ministry would continue its grant to unsponsored steel bands.

He also said Panorama preliminaries would take place at judging points in each region rather than at the Queens Park Savannah as was suggested by Arts and Culture Minister Winston Peters last weekend. www.panapparels.com


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  • INNOVATION key to business success - Since innovation is about the use of our brains in acquiring, applying, creating and exploiting knowledge, the focus should of course be on providing the brain power and techniques to be creative. 

    Panorama is a business - Panorama is a product, if PanTrinbago ran out of ideas to sell Panorama to the world get the right peoples to generate revenues for the panman and woman.

     

  • This is madness and we as panmen (myself being one) Don't deserve this kind of treatment. Panorama brings alot of money and exposure to the country and its culture. What $800  could do for me? When during the panorama season, I am spending more than $1000 to attend daily practice, money for pansticks and money for food and drinks when the night come after hours of practice.....SMH at this stink selfish government and pantrinbago!!!

  • Boy, is a lot of frustration being expressed. But while idealism is great, reality is all you really have. And the first reality we must face is that even in T&T the undisputed birthplace of pan, the expected passion for the music is not embedded in the hearts of all the people. I know we all agree on that.  Even at Carnival, the only major expositon of the instruments and music, the emphasis is only on competition which stifiles more creativity.  While the international impact of pan is great, fact is that it is only confined to a very small population of mostly musicians and music students.  Lets face it people, as much as we love up the pan (and thats not all of us), pan music is an exotic, hybrid music that because of its unique nature will not easily crossover. So while we continue to be frustrated by the diluted respect for pan, remember that even in T&T at Carnival the majority of the population, especially the young, doh be wining to sweet pan.

  • There are no surprises here.  They waited until zero hour to release this information.  I can hardly believe that this was an overnight decision.  They must have known earlier on that they were going to decrease the payment.  They played their hands well.  Right now the men and women are busy learning their tunes and organizing themselves.  Are they supposed to stop and deal with this?  I hope that they are all gainfully employed.  Because in today's economic climate, that pitiful amount will not last very long, neither will it go very far.  Their backwardness is on display.  If in 2011 the payment is only $800.00, perhaps by 3011 they might receive $1,600.  They are doing very little to promote a valuable resource.

  • Well here we go again,

    We did not act decicively last year and we are back to square one. Imagine we have about 8000 membership on WST and yet we got just only 400 plus  signatures on the Petition and an even more pathetic number from the birthplace of Pan and for whom the petition was duly intended Trinidad & Tobago.... and how much was it really supported by Pan Trinbago?

    But those of us  who believes and understands the cause must continue to do and have our say. ...never giving up or giving in

    Salah

    • Salah, You started the Petition this year and showed us that you just don't TALK you are a man ACTION, if you were to ask for another person to do it for next year do you think anyone would show-up?

       

      • It should read a man OF action

  • Carnival is Pan,Calypso and Mas . we need one committee made up one or two rep... from each body. too many committees no unity.

  • THE POEPLES PARTNERSHIP, speaks of a panyard initiative which remains almost inaudible. 7,600 panmen participate in 2011 panorama Salah you have to continue from where you left off...get all these panmen register.

    This is the 5th year I am on this forum daily PanTrinbago on my observation seems to act as WST is non-exsistence imagine in this social media era a product like PANORAMA only hightlights by the members of WST.

    On my observation on the Business of Panorama - the North Stand grounds, Corporate T & T take it over (how much revenue generate from vending) Gate receipt (how much revenue) Alcohol + Food + Crafts vending (how much revenue) CD's & DVD's sales (how much revenue) Broadcast + Pay-Per-View + Internet (how much revenue)

    It is time to stop blaming and let us get this show on the market in my observation over the years on WST forum I follow Sidd ideas about the $billion dollar steelpan industry he is a likely candidate for the board, Royce Russell I met him around vending in North America Carnivals knows about the festivals business this forum is the catalyst to lobby PanTrinbago and The Peoples Partnership to set up a Company to generate revenue for the panmen.

    • Those who can do, start doing, all I am hearing is just ah lot ah TALK. We talk for ah whole year and here we are asking Salah to continue where he left off, too much talk and no ACTION makes Jack ah dull boy.

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