Africa-Press – Mauritius. The President’s Fund for Creative Writing (PFCW) in collaboration with the Open University of Mauritius (OUM), proceeded with a poetry reading session, this morning, at the OUM in Réduit.
The Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, Mr Avinash Teeluck; the Director-General of the OUM, Dr Kaviraj Sharma Sukon; the former Acting President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Paramasivum Pillay Vyapoory; the Chairperson of the PFCW, Dr (Mrs) Anita Aujayeb, and other personalities were present on the occasion.
In his address, Minister Teeluck lauded the PFCW, a parastatal body operating under the aegis of his Ministry, for taking the initiative of organising this poetry reading session.
According to him, it is essential to collaborate and partner with institutions, in particular educational institutions, in promoting culture and arts as it will increase the importance and dimension given to cultural programmes and schemes.
The Minister indicated that the event was being held in the context of the 55th anniversary of the independence of Mauritius and obtained some 27 applications for participation.
On this score, he informed that in a bid to support local artists and to enable them to make a living out of their talent, the First Reading of the Artist Bill is scheduled for tomorrow 16 May 2023 in the National Assembly after several consultations with institutions including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
This, Mr Teeluck underscored, is a major achievement for artists as Mauritius will be leading the way around the world once this Bill is passed as to how Mauritius treats its artists.
The Minister outlined that the Bill will, amongst others, provide for the establishment of the Professional in the Arts Council; promote the status of professionals in the Arts; enhance the social and economic status of professionals in the Arts; and develop and promote the marketing of artistic products and services nationally and internationally.
For his part, Dr Sukon highlighted that these types of events are promoted actively at the OUM as according to him, poets are among the most creative persons around the world.
On this note, he congratulated the institutions who took the initiative to organise this reading session and give the opportunity to poets to showcase their talent.
The Director-General warned about the threat that Artificial Intelligence is posing to raw talent adding that it is essential that the population be careful as Artificial Intelligence is taking over the world.
“It is something inevitable with the advancement of technology but precautions must be taken as feelings and emotions that are attached to subjects such as poetry cannot be replaced by Artificial Intelligence,” he pointed out.
As for Dr Aujayeb, she underlined that poetry can be used to express a message or emotions in a unique way, as well as create images and feelings beyond that of other literary works. She added that it is with the aim to promote information and knowledge as regards poetry that this reading session was organised.
For More News And Analysis About Mauritius Follow Africa-Press
