Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment & Sport - CGES

Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment & Sport - CGES The official page of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment & Sport Jamaica
Fax: 876-927-9103

The Ministry of Youth and Culture is a government organisation that deals primarily with the implementation of policies and social programms that are geared towards the development of the nation's children and youth and the retention and continuation of Jamaica's cultural legacy.

08/09/2026

Jamaica files a reparations petition to King Charles III over the enslavement of Africans. The petition asks whether enslavement was lawful, whether it constituted a crime against humanity, and whether the United Kingdom owes Jamaica a remedy.



The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange has confirmed that Jamaica has fi...
08/09/2026

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange has confirmed that Jamaica has filed an historic reparations petition to His Majesty King Charles. The petition was filed today (Monday, September 7) in London.

Addressing a media briefing following the filing of the petition, Minister Grange said: “We have filed a reparations petition to His Majesty. We anticipate that the petition will be referred to the Privy Council and we will await the decision.”

The petition asks the King, in his capacity of Head of State of Jamaica, to refer questions about the legality of chattel slavery to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Jamaica’s highest court.

“I wish to say here again that this petition of the Government of Jamaica to His Majesty the King does not include a monetary claim,” said the Minister adding that “already there has been a lot of reaction to our petition and I welcome thoughtful, honest debate on the matter of reparations, but so far, we have seen and heard so much of what isn’t so.”

The Minister was reacting to incorrect media reports that the Jamaican government had made a monetary claim in its petition to the King.

“I wish to make it clear, and will do so at every single opportunity, that this petition is a legal petition. It contains three specific questions… [and] does not include a monetary claim,” said the Minister.

England-based barrister, Edward Fitzgerald, who helped to formulate the petition as part of a team of eminent Jamaican and UK lawyers said “the petition simply asks the King to refer certain points of real importance to the Privy Council for their determination.”

According to Mr Fitzgerald, “There’s a special jurisdiction under section four of the Judicial Committee Act for the King to refer an issue of legal or constitutional importance to the Privy Council, for their determination…Any matter of legal or constitutional nature can be referred that cannot be determined through the ordinary judicial process. And this is obviously one of those issues.”

To continue reading, visit our website at www.mcges.gov.jm

Today, on the 107th anniversary of the birth of Dr the Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverley, affectionately known as Miss Lou, c...
08/09/2026

Today, on the 107th anniversary of the birth of Dr the Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverley, affectionately known as Miss Lou, cultural practitioners and representatives from across Jamaica’s creative and cultural landscape gathered at her resting place at National Heroes Park to honour her enduring legacy.

Those gathered paid tribute through the laying of floral arrangements, celebrating the life and work of a woman whose voice, humour, poetry, storytelling and unwavering championing of Jamaican culture continue to inspire generations.

Among those in attendance were Mr. Deanroy Bernard, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, and Christina Williams, Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2006, who led the floral tributes with bouquets. Also in attendance were theatre practitioner Owen ‘Blakka’ Ellis and veteran storyteller Dr. Amina Blackwood Meeks.

As Jamaica marks 107 years since the birth of one of its most beloved cultural icons, we remember a woman whose words, stories and spirit continue to live through our language, our performing arts and our cultural traditions.

Happy Birthday to the matriarch of the Jamaican culture, the iconic Dr. the Honourable Louise Bennett-Coverley OM, OJ, M...
07/09/2026

Happy Birthday to the matriarch of the Jamaican culture, the iconic Dr. the Honourable Louise Bennett-Coverley OM, OJ, MBE.

Miss Lou validated our talk, songs, stories and culture. Her contribution to our literary and dramatic heritage is like no other, we as a people will always be indebted to her for representing us.

The petition has been filed.
07/09/2026

The petition has been filed.


“We go fearless into another chapter in our story when we petition, His Majesty King Charles on the matter of reparation...
07/09/2026

“We go fearless into another chapter in our story when we petition, His Majesty King Charles on the matter of reparations” said the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange.

The Minister made the comment on Sunday (6 September) during her address at an ecumenical church Service of Remembrance, Justice and Repair held at the New Park Road Baptist Church in London on the eve of filing the historic petition.

The church service commemorated the 245th anniversary of the Zong massacre when approximately one-third of the Africans being transported to be enslaved as chattel in Jamaica were thrown overboard the slave ship in a scheme to collect insurance for loss of property.

“They threw approximately 140 Africans to their deaths, children, women and men… It was mass murder without a second thought,” declared the Minister who described the Zong massacre as a powerful illustration of the gravest crime against humanity.

The Minister said “the Zong stood out for the barbarity of the crew as well as the temerity of the owners of the ship, the Gregson syndicate from Liverpool, who knew that the crew had deliberately killed more than one-third of the Africans onboard, but still decided to make a claim on their insurers for loss of property.”

The insurers refused to honour the claim which resulted in the ship owners taking the ultimately unsuccessful matter to the English court.

Minister Grange said Jamaica’s filing of a reparations petition on King Charles was to honour the African ancestors who suffered under hundreds of years of enslavement on the island. In this she included the victims of the Zong massacre and those who survived the perilous and torturous trip to Black River in 1781.

To continue reading, visit our website at www.mcges.gov.jm

06/09/2026

Church Service - Carry Wi Story Lest We Forget

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, is leading a delegation to the U...
04/09/2026

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, is leading a delegation to the United Kingdom to advance Jamaica’s push for reparations for the African ancestors who suffered under hundreds of years of enslavement on the island.

The Minister’s visit is timed to coincide with the filing of a petition to His Majesty King Charles on Monday, September 7, 2026.

The petition asks the King, in his capacity of Head of State of Jamaica, to refer three questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Jamaica’s highest court.

The three questions are specific to the transatlantic chattel enslavement of Africans in Jamaica. The petition is not a demand for payment.

Minister Grange said “this novel legal approach is being taken after years of deliberations and is intended to ensure the long outstanding settlement for the hundreds of years of the most horrific abuse that our African ancestors endured - the gravest crime against humanity.”

While in the United Kingdom, Minister Grange will also participate in an ecumenical Church service, focused on remembrance, justice and repair, at the New Park Road Baptist Church in South London on September 6.

“September 6 is an historic day. On that date in 1781 the slave ship ‘Zong’ set sail from the African west coast towards Black River in Jamaica. We cannot forget the victims and the survivors who made it to Jamaica, nor how the crew of the Zong threw at least 132 enslaved Africans overboard in an act of mass murder that was representative of the horrors of the slave trade in Africans.”

Minister Grange will lay a floral tribute in honour of the victims of the Zong massacre.

Minister Grange will also meet with officials of the British Museum to advance discussions on the repatriation of artefacts that were taken from the Jamaican soil and taken to the United Kingdom during the colonial era. “They are priceless, they are significant to the story of Jamaica, they belong to the people of Jamaica and we are working to bring them home,” she said.

The Minister Grange delegation includes representatives of the Office of the Attorney General, the National Council on Reparations, as well as officers of her Ministry.

03/09/2026

Join us for a service of Remembrance, Justice and Repair on Sunday, September 6 at 8AM on national television and on our social media channels.

Congratulations to Bunny Shaw on being named the Professional FA Players’ Player of the Year for the second time. 😍 Jama...
25/08/2026

Congratulations to Bunny Shaw on being named the Professional FA Players’ Player of the Year for the second time. 😍 Jamaica to the world!

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