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Caribbean ambassadors in Cuba learn about the training opportunities the Santa Clara College will offer young people from the region
Representatives in Cuba from the Caribbean countries covered by the programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, implemented by UNESCO and funded by the European Union, visited the former Santa Clara Convent, located in the heart of Old Havana, where rehabilitation works are underway. The Transcultura programme provides technical assistance and complementary funding for the procurement of materials for these rehabilitation works that will turn this jewel of 17th-century heritage into a highly specialised centre with state-of-the-art technology for the training of young Caribbean professionals in heritage restoration and rehabilitation.
The diplomats, accompanied by the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, Anne Lemaistre, the Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to Cuba, Pedro Campo Llopis, as well as representatives of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, toured the first and oldest cloister where the works are now being carried out with the support of the Transcultura programme. This space will host rooms for lectures, workshops, laboratories and an Aula Magna with cabins for simultaneous interpretation that will serve the students from their countries aged between 18 and 35.
This building shows that heritage is not only about the past, but also a possibility for the future. Thanks to funding from the European Union, Transcultura is bringing together heritage, training, cultural and creative industries, entrepreneurship and tourism to offer young people in the Caribbean opportunities to thrive and contribute to their countries’ development.
The topics of the courses to be delivered at the new Santa Clara College for Training in the Arts and Restoration Trades of Cuba and the Caribbean include documentary heritage restoration, the history and conservation of photography, wood in Caribbean architecture, the safeguarding of movable heritage, and the conservation and restoration of mural painting.
The Santa Clara College is one of the seven educational institutions that make up the Caribbean Cultural Training Hub, created by the Transcultura programme to create synergies that will strengthen the professionalisation of the cultural and creative sector in the region. During the visit, the Caribbean representatives were able to learn about the details of the next round of training to be offered by the Hub from 2 October to 10 November for which the Transcultura programme has awarded 132 scholarships to students from the region to attend courses in design, music, handicrafts and heritage restoration.
The visit also aimed to present the progress and next steps of the Transcultura programme, which has already contributed to the training and creation of professional opportunities for 1,300 young Caribbean people through training, incubators, mentoring for project development, cultural exchanges, access to new markets and the promotion of sustainable cultural tourism.
