Madam Speaker, the creative and cultural industries are emerging as a critical engine of growth and development. However, the COVID-19 pandemic impact on these industries has been unquestionable. This sector will be among the last to re-open fully.Industry players are undergoing serious hardship, in particular in the fields of music, film, dance and theatre, heritage, literature publishing, festivals and broadcasting. To cushion the fallout, artistes have received and/or are eligible to receive short-term income relief of $5,000 as part of our COVID-19 relief programme in recognition of their continued inactivity. The Salary Relief Grant and Income Support Grant Programmes will also be extended to December 2020 for workers in this industry, among others in a similar situation, to provide further financial support, where applicable.
The economic and employment-creating potential of the creative and cultural industries will be unlocked in a measured and consistent manner through: providing support to artistes; promoting support for intellectual property protection; establishing a local content guideline for local media houses; supporting the transition of creative arts from the informal sector to the formal sector; providing local and foreign training opportunities, including partnering with tertiary training institutions; collecting and publishing local cultural statistics; encouraging the use of artistes’ guild to promote equity, decent work standards and quality work management; marketing Trinidad and Tobago as an arena for international film productions; and continuing to expand the local fashion industry. Madam Speaker, in keeping with our commitment to a digital economy in 2022, initiatives geared towards improving digital literacy for local artistes will be promoted. Incentives will also be provided for increasing the percentage of local music played on local music stations.
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