Cooperating locally, building common ground between neighboring territories

In a context where Caribbean cooperation occupies an increasing place in the public policies of overseas territories, some initiatives show that it is possible to start from geographical proximity to structure sustainable regional dynamics.

The "An Ba Lanmè" project«¹, Led by the ZOFI association within a consortium of cultural actors, it brings together Martinique with partners from Dominica and Saint Lucia around a joint work related to Caribbean identity, intangible heritage and contemporary artistic practices. Interview with Johan-Hilel Hamel, Director at the Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DAC) Martinique.

What interested the DAC of Martinique and motivated them to support this cooperation project?

We often talk about regional cooperation with Guadeloupe or French Guiana. But as soon as we work with Dominica or Saint Lucia, it becomes international or cross-border cooperation, even though these territories are sometimes closer than Guadeloupe.

This project connects neighboring territories; the "short supply chain" approach is appealing. Working with islands located just a few dozen kilometers away, which share common cultural and environmental realities, makes sense.

For this particular organization, this is the first Caribbean-wide project we've supported. However, we've been working with them for several years through multi-year funding. We know the quality of the project leaders, we work very well with them, and a relationship of trust has been established. The project leaders often come with existing core funding—in this case, notably through the COREOM program. – Then they approach other partners. What mattered to us was the coherence of the project.

Caribbean cooperation has now reached a significant political level. It's clear that part of the solution lies in cooperation between neighboring territories. Starting with culture seems appropriate. This isn't to say that culture should be used as a battering ram for the economy—that's not its purpose. But it's undoubtedly the most obvious starting point for thinking about and finding solutions together.

What does "showing solidarity" mean to you in the context of an international project? Caribbean dynamics?

Solidarity is what we share of ourselves – and it's reciprocal. Take culture, for example: each region may think its culture belongs exclusively to it. But when we meet, we discover what we have in common: what do we share? What can we do together? How can we envision a future beyond ourselves?

When young artists or young project leaders have a renewed vision of history and seek solutions from their territory, then in a wider space, without necessarily looking for them further afield, I find that extremely interesting.

There's a need to build a shared narrative and talk about the Caribbean in a positive light. How do we tell our story to others, and not just to ourselves? How do we speak positively about the Caribbean and about ourselves, beyond the cliché of the "tourist paradise"? It's not just about beaches or landscapes. There are people, a culture, a history. Building projects together between neighboring islands is a way of acknowledging this. It's a way of constructing a shared narrative and envisioning a collective future.

The project was initially developed across three territories, but its ambition now is to gradually expand to other Caribbean territories, opening up and strengthening itself with each new project. This is how, step by step, a shared narrative and a capacity for collective action are built on a Caribbean scale.

Do you think this type of system is replicable or transferable to other sectors, actors or territories?

I wouldn't call it duplication. I'd rather talk about best practices. Each region must adapt things to its own context. But some principles are transferable. For example, the exploratory phase in this project is, in my opinion, fundamental. It's essential to take the time to get to know each other, to understand each other's ways of working, and to identify the specific operating methods of each region, each stakeholder, and each partner.

Is this exploratory phase so vital? Because these are, first and foremost, human stories. Digital technology facilitates communication, but it doesn't replace face-to-face interaction. Seeing each other, exchanging ideas, changes everything in the relationship. Transformation also happens on this scale: through meeting, through relationships, through the desire to work together.

1. An ba Lanmè is a project supported and accompanied by COREOM, a program implemented by La Guilde and its partners, thanks to funding from the French Development Agency and the Fondation de France. ↩︎