Cuba to Host Colloquium on Caribbean Cultural Diversity

An international colloquium on the Caribbean’s cultural diversity will take place from February 9 to 13 in Havana in an effort to discuss about the different cultural processes going on in the region. The event is sponsored by the House of the Americas and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The initiative knits both institutions together in a first-ever joint endeavor to bring home the fact that cultural diversity is as important for human beings as biodiversity is for all living species, UNESCO representative in Cuba Francisco Lacayo pointed out.

Mr. Lacayo labeled the Caribbean as “one huge laboratory where African, European, Asian, and North American roots are intertwined.”

The UNESCO representative also thanked the House of the Americas for its dedication to the preservation and promotion of the region’s intangible cultural heritage.

Haitian sociologist and theologian Laennec Hurbon, Guyanese actor and critic Jan Carew, and Barbadian professor Austin Clarke –winner of the 1980 House of the Americas Literary Award in the category of Caribbean Literature- are some of the boldface names that have confirmed their attendance to the colloquium.

A number of publications devoted to the Caribbean and the 200th anniversary of Haiti’s independence will be unveiled within the framework of the event.