Phillip Williams (right foreground), CEO of Caribbean Export Development Agency, and design professionals from the CARIFORUM region during a tour of the National Gallery of Jamaican Art in downtown Kingston recently. Annabella Proudlock (third row, second right), operator of Harmony Hall art gallery in Ocho Rios, is the local coordinator of the tour. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer
CARIFORUM is establishing a Caribbean Design Network to promote the development of the design sector which plays a critical role in the production of goods targeted at the export market.
The decision to establish the network was taken recently at a meeting of design professionals in Jamaica, organised by the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA), an agency of the 15-member CARIFORUM grouping that is comprised of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states plus The Dominican Republic.
The meeting of 18 participants from six CARIFORUM states agreed also to establish national design networks, and to undertake a research programme. This would assist in creating a database of design practitioners and related service providers from each country, create a web-based internal forum for the design sector, and identify relevant existing research efforts.
Overlooked
"We believe that design is often overlooked within the whole ambit of export; it is an important factor in your capacity to export a product - that it is properly designed and attractive and that it is also packaged in a way that is appealing to the potential buyer," Phillip Williams, executive director of CEDA, told The Gleaner ahead of the meeting which was held in Ocho Rios, St Ann.
"Whether we are going to be able to take advantage of the opportunities offered within the Economic Partnership Agreement or any other trade agreement will depend ultimately on the competitiveness of our products,: argued Phillips. "Therefore,, we need to do everything that is possible to our products to give them that edge to make them appealing to the potential buyer. Design, we feel, is a very important element."
Williams, who spoke to The Gleaner during the delegation's tour of the National Gallery of Jamaican Art in downtown Kingston, said while artistic design was important, the group was essentially interested in 'design as a component of the production of products for export'. Design, he noted, was not only about the flair, but also required knowledge and experience.
While in Jamaica, the delegation also toured The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), which provides assistance and incubator facilities to start-up and established SMEs in a variety of craft areas including jewellery, handicraft, fashion and ceramics; the Edna Manley School of Visual and Performing Arts; and Harmony Hall art gallery in Ocho Rios, operated by Peter and Annabella Proudlock.
At the planning meeting in Jamaica, the designers also decided to create new handicraft collections with additional companies in a coordinated product development project and launch at Maison et Objet, Paris, in January 2010. National projects already have been proposed and scheduled in Guyana, Barbados and Jamaica. Other countries in the region to be included in a new collection (Onsite Caribbean 2) are: OECS, Belize, Haiti and Suriname.
The group also took the decision to organise a study tour to Maison et Objet in September this year for designers and selected companies.
byron.buckley@gleanerjm.com
CEDA is focused on:
1. Helping countries - particularly the business community - to understand the trade agreements.
2. Helping Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) to be more competitive so they can penetrate extra regional markets.
3. Using mediums such as state trade/investment promotion agencies and trade associations to reach the myriad of SMEs.
4. Creating networks of likeminded enterprises and institutions in the service sector, including health and wellness, tourism, Information communication technology, and cultural industries such as film and video.