In what was defined as “an action to favor true and concrete cultural integration between Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba” a letter of intent was signed in the Trinidad and Tobago Trade Facilitation Office on Tuesday January 27th between Sanch Electronix and the Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase (TCFS), a regional organization based in Cuba, devoted to the promotion of Caribbean film. The objective of this action was to promote the teaching of Steelpan in Cuba and other Spanish-speaking countries.
As agreed, the Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase (TCFS) will facilitate the Spanish voice dubbing and upgraded animation for the didactic software “Pete the Panstick”, a virtual education platform for online delivery of a comprehensive music curriculum. This project has been undertaken with the vision of utilizing technology and indigenous rhythms to extend the outreach and dramatically reduce the cost of delivery of the curriculum.
In exchange, the 2.0 version of the programme in its Spanish version will be licensed with no cost to the Cuban Music education system for six years and will be exported to other Spanish speaking countries in their native language. This project will widen the scope and potential market of the didactic software, especially inside Latin America, to confirm that regional cultural products and services have the potential to achieve competitiveness and become net foreign exchange earners in the global arena. Intraregional collaboration in this area is nothing but indispensable and the Trade Facilitation Office can and will offer full support to these initiatives.
As stated during the signing, the Steelpan has evolved to be both a family of musical instruments and a music genre from Trinidad & Tobago. Both genre and instrument have become inextricably intertwined with Caribbean culture, its Diaspora and cultural heritages while being gradually accepted by the rest of the world as a mainstream musical instrument.
Both parties also agreed that Sanch Electronix, through its cultural platform One Caribbean Voice, will present a special programme of the Travelling Caribbean Film Showcase dedicated to Caribbean Music, as a part of its community development and outreach programmes, especially those for children and adolescents involving music education.
Rigoberto López, director of the TCFS, declared that this intention is based on the common purpose of both entities of contributing to develop integration initiatives inside the region, involving the diverse Caribbean forms of cultural identity and cultural expression.
Simeon L. Sandiford
Managing Director
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