Cultural education in Caribbean Netherlands in development

Kralendijk- From the 2nd to 6th of March the National Knowledge Institute for Cultural Education & Amateur Art (Landelijk Kennisinstituut Cultuureducatie & Amateurkunst, LKCA) provided a train-the-trainer program for the Caribbean Netherlands to promote cultural education. The five-day program was organized by Fundashon Plataforma Kultural with support from the Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, the public entities and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, OCW). A total of 21 teachers, art teachers and policy makers from Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba participated.

In the Caribbean Netherlands, cultural education and participation are generally achieved through voluntary initiatives from islanders in their free time. Passionate and dedicated cultural practitioners are willing to spend their time on education, but they are not necessarily trained in this area. In addition, the teachers have not previously received training as an (internal) culture coordinator. In the LKCA approach, the culture coordinator is the linchpin for good cultural education at school, who also connects with cultural activities outside the school.

To fill in the training needs, two trainers from the LKCA were brought to Bonaire to offer a tailor-made program. They provided a combination of multiple training courses, focusing on the development of their own vision and policy plan, the different roles of the culture coordinator and the formation of a culture network. All this with the aim of offering children on the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands more and better cultural education inside and outside the school.

With the train-the-trainer program, a sustainable local infrastructure is created in which school teachers help the cultural sector in guiding and instructing. After all, they already have the necessary knowledge and experience in the field of education. The point of departure is to utilize and further develop the knowledge that is already present on the islands.

To complete the training week, all participants received a certificate issued by Deputy Nina den Heyer and department head Nolly Oleana of OCW in the Caribbean Netherlands, at Hòfi Kultural. For the period following the training week, agreements have been made with LKCA for remote support in the formation and maintenance of the culture network.