Trade Watch V8 No 2 Mar-Apr 2014

TRAINING & CERTIFICATION FOR CAPACITY BUILDING

Caribbean Export Facilitates Regional Participation in Iberoamerican Handicraft Seminar

The content of the five-day programme examined policies with regards to commercialization, export control and quality standards, in particular and operational effectiveness in general. After expounding on these tenants in detail, the sessions went on to critically assess the current state of operations locally. The standards of the AECID were used as a bench mark for the unification of processes, policies and legislature which structure the craft sector and promote traditional craft exports. The principal constraints identified as a result of this benchmarking process were the need of quality standardization and more structured training programmes with qualified facilitators in the various subsectors. The Agency, through engagement with ONART and CENADART, aims to integrate the handicraft sector in a strategic into the tourism sector, one of the Dominican Republic’s major exports. The craft sector, through this partnership, would gain the much needed boost to visibility and potential consumption that a strong presence in the tourism industry affords. However, the sector has the potential to develop independently of tourism, as indicated in the private sector component of the Caribbean Export Binational programme, where handicraft was identified as one of the priority sectors for development and export in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This programme is a continuation of an ongoing developmental project, in which ONART and CENADART since its inception. The workshop represents the fourth phase of the project, which aimed to improve the functionality of the handicraft sector in Hispaniola through a focus on: creating a base line for productivity; the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation between Haiti and the Dominican Republic; the benchmarking of the current state of the sector using the Colombian model as reference for the standardization of the national products and the development of a training and certification programme. Both ONART and CENADART agreed to focus on the architecture of the subsectors of papier mache, jewelry, cut metal, and ceramics in order to optimize their market potential. Through this workshop, and other collaborative efforts, the organizations are working towards the standardization of quality and norms for the handy craft in the island. (TW)

Participants listen keenly during presentations at the Iberoamerican Handicraft Seminar in Colombia

Iberoamerican Handicraft Seminar 2014 facilitators and participants

The creative industries took a front seat once again when the sub- regional office (SRO) of Caribbean Export located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic gave the island’s handicraft regulation authorities, ONART and CENADARTE, the opportunity to participate in an international Iberoamerican Handicraft Seminar. The workshop, which took place from March 10-14, 2014 in Cartagena, Colombia, was developed in order to equip the organizations with the knowledge of, and tools to implement, the best practices of the region in accordance with The Spanish Agency of International Cooperation in Colombia (AECID), which is the body which dictates these standards and procedures within the Latin American region. The agencies would then be better able to offer technical and structural support to the independent craft artisans of the Dominican Republic, thus creating a conducive environment for competitively viable trade and export in the craft industry.

11 Tradewatch • The Official E-Newsletter of the Caribbean Export Development Agency • Vol. 8 No. 2 March - April 2014