The Ministry of Culture is aggressively trying to get more small businesses involved in next year’s Mashramani celebration, and is seeking the help of local designers to do this.
In a meeting held with local designers, Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony urged them to come up with “special packages” which would suit the budgets of the small business owners.
Anthony said that for too long the Mashramani float parade has been dominated by the larger companies and his ministry was trying to implement measures to get the smaller businesses involved. He emphasized that these business did not need to have extravagant floats, but could still make an impression if they participated in one of the smaller categories. Stabroek News was told that there are usually three categories contested at the Mashramani float parade – the T-shirt, semi-costume and full costume bands.
Anthony told the small gathering of designers that once they provided the packages, these would be passed on to the businesses. Further, he said, his ministry would be able to sell the advantages of participating in such an event. Anthony highlighted major publicity as one of the advantages of being a part of the Mash festivities.
Meanwhile, veteran designer John Fernandes called for the government to offer more incentives to companies who took part in Mashramani. He suggested more duty-free concessions be given to them when importing items specifically related to their Mash celebrations. He also called for the government to loosen the grip on designers, as this would allow for greater creativity and productivity. He said that often, when designers travelled overseas to buy materials for their designs, they had to endure unnecessary hassle at the local airport.
In response, Anthony promised to explore all these avenues but said that the ministry’s priority at present was getting the businesses on board and ensuring that next year’s Mash saw more persons being involved.
The theme for next year’s celebration is “One Dream, One Celebration, One Design in 2009.”
