Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, has welcomed the decision of the University of Minnesota to establish an International Institute for Reggae Studies.
Ms. Grange gave her full support to the initiative during her visit to the University on the weekend.
The minister said the move by the University of Minnesota to subject Reggae Music to academic enquiry, follows similar programmes established at our own University of the West Indies in Jamaica with a Reggae Studies Unit.
She added that reggae’s contribution to Jamaica’s revenue and global competitiveness has been documented but not shared enough and hopes the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Reggae Studies will contribute to that body of knowledge which speaks to the outstanding economic contribution of Reggae music to the global creative economy.
Ms. Grange was in Minnesota to assist in kick starting what is intended to be the annual Minnesota International Sports and Reggae Festival and the establishment of the Minnesota International Institute for Reggae Studies.
