UNESCO Transcultura-WOMEX Call: Here are the winners!
The jury of the event parallel to the Worldwide Music Expo, offWOMEX, announced that Yarima Blanco y Son Latino, from Cuba; the Dominican Republic and Haitian group, Azueï; and the Blvk H3ro & Reggae Soul Band from Jamaica are the winners of the UNESCO Transcultura-WOMEX Call, among over a hundred competing groups.
Another winner, as ruled by an independent jury, is Cimafunk, from Cuba.
They were selected from among 108 groups of various formats that applied from Barbados, Belize, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The winning groups will have the opportunity to attend the next edition of WOMEX, the Worldwide Music Expo, under the auspices of the UNESCO Transcultura Programme: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity.
From 27 to 31 October, these groups will be representing the Caribbean at the event, which will take place in the city of Porto, Portugal. Thanks to this initiative, 58 applications from the subregion were sponsored by this Programme implemented by the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean and funded by the European Union. Sponsoring the applications of groups or soloists from the 17 Member States of the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) included in the Programme was the first step of this initiative.
These groups will have the opportunity to showcase their music to producers, entrepreneurs, agents and the general public, while interacting with musicians from other regions of the world, thereby paving the way to new markets and opportunities for professional growth.
The award includes air travel, transportation during the event, accommodation, attendance at the fair, and participation in workshops where managers and representatives of the groups will enhance their skills in key aspects of the music industry. As a result, the UNESCO Transcultura-WOMEX initiative will contribute to the professionalisation of young artists, international market exposure and the discovery of new job opportunities.
The UNESCO Transcultura Programme seeks to contribute to strengthen entrepreneurship and innovation in the cultural and creative industries of the Caribbean. With the presence of these young music professionals at WOMEX, performers of the widest ranging and vibrant Caribbean rhythms, the Programme also aims to promote the understanding of shared intercultural values between the subregion and Europe, thereby deepening integration.
With this initiative, the UNESCO Transcultura Programme uses music as a source of inspiration and motivation for young artists to participate more actively in the sustainable development of their communities and countries.