Workshop for Regional Artisan Network of the Greater Caribbean

Press Release: 3^rd Meeting and 4^th Workshop for the Strengthening of Capacity Building of the Regional Network of Artisans in Tourism of the Greater Caribbean

On the 22^nd September, 2017 the Directorate of Sustainable Tourism of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) organized the 3^rd Meeting and 4^th Workshop for the Strengthening of Capacity Building of the Regional Network of Artisans in Tourism of the Greater Caribbean. Participating in these meetings were six artisans who represented the Regional Network of Artisans in Tourism of the Greater Caribbean, from the 5 ACS subgroups, namely: Saint Lucia, Barbados, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. Also in attendance were the Organisation of American States (OAS) who supported the ACS during the establishment of the Network as well as, the Inter-American and Caribbean Network of Small Hotels (INCAPH), the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History and the Honduran Institute for Tourism (IHT, for the Spanish acronym), in its capacity as Host Country and President of the ACS Special Committee on Sustainable Tourism.

These entities came together with the aim of strengthening capacity Building in the Craft Sector for the benefit of the Greater Caribbean Region. Capacity-Building discussions included the following:

• Best Practices regarding linking the Artisan Sector to the Value Chain of Tourism in the Republic of Honduras
• Cooperation for the Protection and Promotion of Cultural Heritage in the Greater Caribbean
• Commercialisation and Export of Handicrafts
• Graphical Documentation of the Handicraft Product

Additionally, the Regional Network of Artisans in Tourism of the Greater Caribbean with the support of the OAS exchanged an official agreement with INCAPH with the aim of forging synergies with the Interamerican and Caribbean Association of Small Hotels so that collaborations between the two can secure mutual benefits for both organizations based on the importance of pursuing  a joint effort to promote competititiveness of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) of the tourism sector in the Greater Caribbean Region.

During this meeting, the artisans also discussed the advances made on the implementation of the 2016-2017 Plan of Action which seeks to concretize the establishment of the Regional Network of Artisans in Tourism of the Greater Caribbean. 

This Regional Network of Artisans in Tourism of the Greater Caribbean stems from the workshop “Entrepreneurial Strengthening in the Tourism Sector: Opportunities for Women”, which was organised by the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) in collaboration with the Regional Port Society of Cartagena and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, with the support of the Office of Culture and Tourism of the Organisation of American States in October 23-24, 2014.

Subsequently, its main objectives were to identify the needs and challenges affecting Women Artisans and Entrepreneurs with micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the Tourism Sector and also to deliver training and capacity-building tools

 to develop and/or enhance their business. Among the main outcomes, the Artisans committed to forming a Regional Network of Artisans of the Greater Caribbean for on-going networking, co-operation and dialogue.

The ACS Directorate of Sustainable Tourism in partnership with Regional and International Organizations is committed to increase awareness of the potentialities and provide information, tools and strategies to improve the competitiveness and maximise the entrepreneurship opportunities generated by tourism artisans with MSMES operating in the Tourism sector and access to new market niches and maximise the entrepreneurship opportunities generated by artisans within the MSMES operating in the Tourism sector.