GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Minister of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sports the honorable Silveria Jacobs mediated a meeting with the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) President Michael Granger, Member Radjouki, and Calypsonians for an amicable solution to facilitate the Road March Competition being a part of the Carnival schedule for 2013.
The SCDF had cancelled the Road March competition due to low registration numbers. Calypsonians were outraged at the prospect of not being able to take part in the annual competition. In an effort to have the show placed back on the schedule, a petition drive was initiated amongst the Calypsonians.
The petition was sent to the Minister of Education, Culture youth and Sport in the hopes that she would be able to intervene with the SCDF on their behalf.
The Minister called a meeting with both the SCDF and Calypsonian representatives to come to a solution for the cancelled Road March competition on Wednesday evening. During the meeting both parties were afforded the opportunity to give their account of what lead to the cancellation, after which several options were brought forward.
All parties involved were able to agree to add the Road March competition to the carnival schedule on April 23rd 2013. The SCDF agreed to extend registration for the competition for one week (Jan 31 - Feb 7) in order to accommodate the Calypsonians who claimed to be unaware of the deadline which had passed. Registration forms have been delivered by the president of the SCDF, Michael Granger, and will be available as of January 31st 2013 at the reception of the Government Administration Building
Though a solution has been found for this year's competition, the Minister emphasized that all registrants should adhere to the registration guideline set by the SCDF in order to facilitate the proper and timely planning of the competitions.
The Minister also encouraged the Calypsonians to organize themselves as artists in one body to facilitate dialogue with the SCDF and other stakeholders in promoting their craft.
Minister Jacobs also pledged the assistance of government in hosting the Road March Competition, and thanked the SCDF and Calypsonians for the professionalism displayed in coming to a solution which would be an added value to Carnival 2013 and the population of St. Maarten.
