Third Culture Fund Cycle Brings Belizean Visions to Life

Twenty-four cultural projects now have the financial support to move from vision to reality. Through its third funding cycle, the Belize Culture Fund is investing in initiatives that will protect Belize’s living traditions, create opportunities for emerging talent and showcase the country’s stories on the international stage. The celebration moved to Government House this afternoon, where awardees received cheques to get their various cultural initiatives off the ground.

 

Rolando Cocom, Director, Institute of Social & Cultural Research

“At the National Institute of Culture and History, we are committed to supporting the diverse and outstanding work that is taking place across this country to promote and safeguard our cultural heritage. This year, with financing from the Ministry of Culture and NICH, the Culture Fund began with a pool of thirty thousand Belize dollars intended to support only nine projects. But we received more than fifty high-quality applications, a powerful indicator of the creativity, of the ambition and of the need within our communities. Thanks to the support of the NICH President and the Minister of Culture, we are now able to award twenty-four grants, tripling the number of projects supported and extending our reach into the communities across Belize. The institute’s grants are built around the four divisions of NICH, connecting each award to the work that we do every day: digital archaeology, through our Institute of Archaeology, digital creative arts, through the Institute of Creative Arts, safeguarding at-risk living heritage, through our Institute of Social and Cultural Research and making museums vibrant under the Museum of Belize and Houses of Culture. Each of these four awards will receive five thousand Belize dollars. Through our dynamic projects category, we will also support twenty initiatives, each receiving two thousand Belize dollars.”

 

With twenty-four projects now funded, the real work begins as recipients turn those grants into lasting cultural impact across Belize.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: